


Rescue Romance

by a_very_smol_frog



Series: Aoba Johsai Firehouse AU [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Firefighters, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Depression, F/M, Fire, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Heavy Angst, M/M, Mentions of Drowning, Mentions of Suicide, Mentions of car accident, Near Death Experiences, Rating May Change, Smut, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-12
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:41:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 42,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22672702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_very_smol_frog/pseuds/a_very_smol_frog
Summary: Oikawa lost everything in a fire that burned down his apartment complex...or maybe he gained everything he could have ever wanted? But can he handle the idea of loosing it all over again?~~~Oikawa is pulled out of a burning building by hot firefighter Iwaizumi Hajime. Romance between the two burns bright until an accident puts Iwaizumi in the hospital.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Hanamaki Takahiro/Matsukawa Issei, Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Shimizu Kiyoko/Tanaka Ryuunosuke, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Series: Aoba Johsai Firehouse AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1939618
Comments: 187
Kudos: 832





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't seen any firefighter AUs and my soul needed it so I'm making it. All of my knowledge about firefighting, firehouses, etc comes from Chicago Fire so I apologize to any actual firefighters out there.

Iwaizumi loved being a firefighter. He loved that every day he got to make a difference, that his job _meant_ something. When others ran away, Iwaizumi would dive straight in. He never feared the fire licking his heels or the smoke filling his lungs; the rush he got after a job well done was addicting.

The fire house was Iwaizumi's home. He loved the constant din of his crew. The laughing in the kitchen and the arguing over whose turn it was to clean the engine; even at night there was no silence, Kuroo's soft snoring or Bokuto's rumblings were like a lullaby to Iwazumi at this point. The firehouse was where the young captain belonged; it was the days that he had to go home that he dreaded the most. When he would step through the front door, his apartment was always dark and cold, everything where he had left it previously; a stark contrast to the warm chaos of the firehouse. Almost everyone else on his crew had someone to go home to, and on those lonely nights with only his thoughts for company, Iwaizumi envied them; Hajime wished he wasn't alone.

~~~

_"Engine 41, Truck 12, Squad 1, Ambo 113. Apartment fire. 234 Seijoh Lane."_

The familiar crackle of the voice over the speakers spurred the entire house into action. Moments ago they were all sitting in the lounge watching a volleyball tournament but the second they were called upon it was like a switch had flipped; it was show time. Iwaizumi easily went through the motions of getting ready for a call, it was as familiar to him as breathing. He allowed the world around him to fall into a muted haze, preparing himself for the unknown. 

Shimizu pulled the engine in front of their target destination, a U shaped apartment complex at the end of the road in a quiet part of town. Terrified people poured out of the three story building, the billowing black smoke almost looked as if it were pushing them out the front door. On the top floor there was one window where the fire leaped out as if it were tryng to chase those who had escaped its clutches. 

"It looks like the fire is coming from the west side of the 3rd floor. Yahaba and Shirabu get a line running and aim for that window. Daichi my crew will take the west half your get your men on the east. Kunimi and Nishinoya you two take the 1st floor. Shimizu and Yaku you guys take the 2nd. Kuroo and I will take the 3rd. Get all civilians out and into the parking lot."

"Yes, Captain!" In moments like these Iwaizumi proved that he had earned his status. He lead his team effortlessly, never doubting his judgement or the ability of his crew. When others panicked, Hajime was calm, never faltering as he stared into the eyes of the untamed beast in front of him. 

The captain and his lieutenant climbed their way to the 3rd floor, helping frightened citizens as they clamored their way down the stairs. At the top they were greeted by the deafening roar of the fire. It crawled its way out of the 2nd to last apartment, dragging itself up the walls and across the carpet, desperate to devour everything in its path. Thick black smoke poured from the room, swallowing and smothering the two men. 

"Fire Department call out!" Iwaizumi screamed over the thundering of the fire, desperate to reach any lost soul before the beast found them. And thats when the last door in the hallway flew open, the silhouette of a single man standing behind the fire. It was as if beast grew to block Iwaizumi’s path, keeping him from rescuing the man from its clutches.

"Captain!" The sharp yell tore Iwaizumi's gaze to his left. There Kuroo was holding a bright red beacon of hope, a life preserver in this fiery hell; a fire extinguisher. It wouldn't tame the beast but it would subdue it long enough for Iwaizumi to dash past it. A moment later Hajime was leaping across, the hiss of white smoke around him shielding him long enough for him to pass. Then he was staring into frightened caramel colored eyes; a trembling hand found purchase in Iwaizumi's jacket. 

"Are you hurt?" A sharp shake of the head.

"Are you alone?" A nod.

"Captain! We need to go! Its getting into the ceiling!" The beast had clawed its way hungrily through the building, desperate to satiate its never ending hunger.

"Whats your name?" The other man moved a trembling hand to remove the damp washcloth that was pressed against his mouth. 

"Oikawa." Iwaizumi could hear the other man's desperate gasps for air. The captain pulled off his mask and placed it over the brunette's head, giving him respite from the suffocating smoke.

"I'm Iwaizumi. I'm going to keep you safe, I promise. Just hold onto me and keep breathing okay!" Without his mask the smoke flooded his lungs, laying thick against his tongue and charring his throat. The captain scooped the other man into his arms, quivering arms wrapped around the fire fighter's neck. Under a thick white blanket the duo crept past the beast and hurried to the stairs. Smoke heaved its way into Iwaizumi's lungs, threatening to burn him from the inside out. He felt it squeeze his throat, charring each gulp of air as it went down. Tears streamed down his face as he followed Kuroo through the building. His lungs begged him to stop but the captain clutched the life in his arms and pushed through.

When they finally escaped the burning building, Iwaizumi gasped for fresh air but the charcoal in his throat boiled every crisp breath. Tsukishima and Semi ran over with a stretcher allowing Iwaizumi to set down the man in his arms. 

"Captain you okay?" Kuroo placed a firm hand on his shoulder. Iwaizumi opened his mouth to reply but it just fed the fire in his lungs and it felt as if flames would burst from his mouth. 

"I'm fine." He finally managed to croak. "Semi get him to the hospital. The building is cleared of all civilians." Every word clawed at his throat, ripping the flesh raw, but Iwaizumi watched the paramedics cart the other man away. He was frightened but he was alive, he was _safe_ , and Iwaizumi would swallow a thousand embers to save an innocent life.  
  
Now that that life was out of his arms, the anchor keeping him steady during the chaos, he felt fatigue wash over him in a heavy wave. The young captain sighed and turned back to the burning building behind him. Several hoses were focused on the building now and the fire was slowly beginning to die down. It was these moments that made Iwaizumi addicted to it all. When he got to watch his team beat the fire and save lives, but the fires would always come back, beckoning him, and Iwaizumi would always answer the call.

~~~

Sitting in front of the Aoba Josai firehouse, Oikawa started to feel nervous; which was ridiculous because Oikawa Tooru was never _nervous_. His charm, talent, and good looks always allowed him to navigate any situation with ease. But sitting in his car with 3 dozen doughnuts and the realization that he was about to see the man who saved his life, Oikawa didn't know any other word to describe the butterflies in his stomach and the sweat on his palms. 

After a short examination at the hospital Oikawa was released and told to relax for a few days. His apartment was completely destroyed, the fire made its way through the shared wall and charred most of his belongings. 

_"And it would have gotten me too..."_ Oikawa thought to himself. He had been asleep when the fire started, having pulled an all-nighter to grade his student's physics exams, and didn't awake until thick black smoke billowed under his door. When he opened it he was met with an intense wall of heat and all he could see were the flames leaping out his neighbour's door, blocking him from the only escape route. Oikawa remembered the ice cold dread that crept through him, even though the heat from the flames burned his skin. All he could do was close the door, a faint hope that the flimsy wood would somehow block the flames from reaching him. Even as he threw open his windows the smoke still choked him, and every breath suffocated him instead of filling his lungs. 

Oikawa liked to think he was a smart man, they didn't just hand out PhDs in astrophysics to anyone, but the fires Oikawa looked at were far away twinkles in the sky and not beating down his door, threatening to consume him. All he could do was press a wet cloth against his mouth to cool the hot air before in burned his lungs. His mind was blank with panic. The mantra _"I'm going to die I'm going to die”_ playing on repeat through his mind. But that is when he heard it. It was hard to hear over the roar of the fire but it was there, like a light in the darkness; a voice. 

"Fire Department call out!" And when Oikawa threw open his door a 2nd time he saw two figures behind the fire, but the flames leaped across the hall, determined to keep Oikawa trapped in his apartment. And then suddenly there was a man in front of him, green eyes intensely focused on Tooru. He was asking him questions but all Oikawa could do was nod, the smoke closing his throat and smothering his voice. He barely croaked out his own name.

"I'm Iwaizumi...I'm going to keep you safe." And then Oikawa felt clear air fill his weeping lungs and he was being hoisted up and carried away from the fire. Tooru knew that he should be afraid as they raced through the burning building, but as he clung to the man holding him he felt no fear, " _I'm going to keep you safe"_ rang through his head, and Oikawa believed him.

Oikawa's coworkers and best friends Matsukawa and Hanamaki gave him refuge after he was released from the hospital. In the span of a few hours the man had lost everything. The newly weds had recently bought a quaint little home in the suburbs and were happy to allow Tooru to be their first honored guests, but after 48 hours of listening to Oikawa prattle on and on about the man who saved him Mattsun finally snapped. He _kindly_ suggested that Oikawa should just go down to the firehouse and properly thank the man, which is how Oikawa ended up here in front on the house with 3 dozen doughnuts because he felt like showing up empty handed would be weird (and everyone likes doughnuts right?) and with the unfamiliar and paralyzing sensation of nervousness washing over him. 

Firefighters moved in and out of the building but Tooru recognized none of them. What if Iwaizumi wasn't even working today? Did firefighters work every day? His panic was short lived though because he finally saw a familiar face step out of the building, a tall and broad man with jet black hair cropped on the sides but messy and unkempt on the top. That was Iwaizumi's partner, the other man standing on the other side of the fire. He was talking to a slightly shorter man who was bouncing excitedly as he waved his arms, clearly enthusiastic about their conversation. This other man was just as muscular as Iwaizumi's partner (why had Oikawa never been to a fire station before?) and had a similar hair style but his hair was black with white streaks and gelled up into, what Oikawa could only assume, some attempt at hair styling. If the darker haired man was there then Oikawa hoped that meant Iwaizumi was there as as well. Oikawa took a deep breath, gave himself a few words of encouragement, grabbed the doughnuts, and walked up to the fire station. 

The two men he had been staring at earlier noticed him immediately. Two pairs of golden eyes watched him as he walked up the drive way, looking at him and then down to the baked goods in his arms. 

"Hey, hey, hey! Are these for us?!" The shorter man practically screamed, jumping with excitement. 

"Um, yes. I'm not sure if you remember but the other day you responded to a fire at an apartment complex. That's where I live, well I guess lived now, but I wanted to bring these to thank you in some way." Oikawa had been rendered useless with fear because of that fire but these men ran into the danger willingly, so questionable hair styling aside, the brunette admired them. 

"You're the guy the Captain pulled out right?" Iwaizumi's partner asked, opening the top box in Oikawa's arms and pulling out a doughnut covered in a ridiculous amount of sprinkles. "Yea I remember now. Its not everyday you pull out a guy in kiddy pajama pants." He snickered, lips pulling into a Cheshire Cat grin as he took a bite out of the doughnut. Oikawa felt his cheeks flush.

"Just because they have aliens on them doesn't mean they are children's pajama bottoms! Plus they're really soft." Oikawa pulled his lips forward into a pout. Those were his favorite pajama bottoms and were now one of the few possessions he had left. "But yes that was me and I was wondering if your captain was here. I wanted to thank him personally for...saving my life." Oikawa's voice softened, remembering those intense green eyes and strong arms carrying him to safety. 

"Sure think, Iwaizumi is back in his office. Bo can you take these to the kitchen? I'll show him where the Captain is." The other man enthusiastically lifted the boxes from Oikawa's arms and look them inside. "I'm Kuroo by the way. I was the other guy at that fire with the Captain, but I didn't get to swoop in and sweep you off your feet." Kuroo waggled his eyebrows suggestively and a filthy smirk spread across his lips when Oikawa blushed scarlet. They walked past a large common room where a crowd had gathered around Oikawa's thank you present. The fire house was warm and welcoming, everything was bright and clean, Oikawa didn't know what he expected but he was pleased with the homey atmosphere. They moved into a darker room filled with simple cots, all empty, and along the far wall Oikawa saw three glass rooms with their own desk and bed. Two of the rooms were occupied and one of them made Oikawa's breath hitch.

Iwaizumi was sitting at his desk, eyebrows furrowed as he read something in the folder he was holding. Now that there wasn't a _burning building_ there is distract him, Oikawa could get a good look at the young captain. The first thing Tooru noticed were the other man's arms, the arms that lifted him away from danger, they were bronze and the sleeves of the black t-shirt he was wearing pulled tight across them. His hands, the hands that held Oikawa tight, one held the folder while the other propped up a sinfully sharp jawline. And even though Oikawa couldnt see them he knew those intense green eyes, the eyes he still saw when he fell asleep, were flicking over the pages in his hand, and suddenly Oikawa craved for them to look at him instead. A soft snicker beside him pulled Oikawa out of his trance. He met the intense golden gaze of Kuroo, a mischievous glint dancing in the molten glow.

"Man you've got it bad. Well lets go lover boy, are you going to stand there or are you going to _thank_ him?" He held onto the word thank, rolling it around his tongue like a child would something sweet. That predator like gaze never left Oikawa, if anything it grew more intense, like a lion staring at its prey in the darkness of the jungle. 

Suddenly Oikawa felt his mouth go dry, like he had been chewing on cotton, and he very much wanted to bite back with a witty retort but his mind went blank. He felt a broad hand on his back, pushing him forward and then Oikawa was no longer standing across the room, but was instead in the door frame of Iwaizumi's office. Kuroo rapped his knuckles against the wooden door. "Hey Cap, you've got a visitor." The raven haired man reached around and grabbed a frozen Oikawa, pushing him directly into Iwaizumi's vision. 

In college Oikawa was known for being a flirt, a savant in the science of seduction, but standing there in front of Iwaizumi, with those emerald green eyes staring up at him, the only thing Oikawa could do was muster a pathetic "Hello." He heard a chuckle from behind him, Kuroo was no doubt enjoying watching him flounder. God damn cat.

"Well I'm going to go get another doughnut. Good luck with your little _chat_." The man gave Oikawa a sly wink and then slinked off into the darkness of the other room. In the quiet of his absence the realization that Oikawa was now alone with Iwaizumi sat very heavily in his chest.

"Oikawa." The captain’s tone was neutral but the weight of his name on Iwaizumi's lips sent a shiver down Oikawa's spine. He felt a heat rise to his cheeks but this time there was no fire the blame.

"I-I didn't think you'd recognize me." The soft smile that fell on Iwaizumi's lips make Oikawa weak in the knees. The brunette decided then that he would devote the rest of his research to that smile, wanting to learn everything that would bring it to the surface again.

"Well its not every day I rescue a grown man dressed in alien pajamas." Oikawa felt his mouth drop open. This gorgeous man remembered him because of his ridiculous pajamas. Maybe it would have been better if the fire consumed him, just so he wouldn't have to live through the embarrassment that was threatening to eat him alive now.

"I will not apologize for my choice in sleepwear. Those pants are soft and comfortable, besides it wasn't as if I was planning on being rescued from a burning building in them!" Oikawa thought back to the fear that gripped him as he looked at the fire in the hall. How he thought that he was going to die there. He felt the heat again, how it sucked the moisture from his skin and cracked his lips. Tooru was transported back to that moment, no longer in the safety of the fire house, instead he was staring deep into the fire as it crawled towards him, ready to eat him alive. 

Two warm hands on his own snapped Oikawa out of this trance.

Those emerald eyes, like the color of pine needles against fresh snow, were focused intensely on him, eyebrows pulled forward in worry. Oikawa looked down at their hands, his knuckled were white and when he unclenched his fists there were crescents in his palms.

"S-sorry about that." Oikawa shook his head and pulled a smile back onto his face. "Shockingly I didn't come here to be mocked for my choice in pajamas. I came here to thank you personally Iwaizumi." Oikawa raised his eyes to meet Iwaizumi's and he found himself wondering what they looked like in the morning full of sleep. "You....you _saved_ my life. I-I was..." but before Oikawa could finish he felt a warm hand on his shoulder.

"Its my job to protect and serve this city. You needed our help and I would never hesitate to rush into a fire to help a civilian." His voice was so sincere it made Oikawa have heart palpitations. God he was _fucked_. He was a grown ass man and yet here he was crushing like a middle school girl. All he needed to do now was doodle their names in hearts in the corners of his notebooks.

"I know its your job but I still wanted to come and thank you! Doughnuts don't seem like nearly enough though so let me take you out to dinner!" Oh how Mattsun and Makki would love to see him now. The Grand King reduced to a blubbering fool by one man, who by the way was currently staring at Oikawa as if he had grown another head. Tooru tried to come up with something, _anything_ , to save the massive flaming piece of garbage that was his attempt to ask the hottest man in Japan out on a date.

"Oh..." Oh! Thats all Iwaizumi had to say?! Oh!? Suddenly Oikawa desperately wished he would have died in that fire because it would have been painless compared to the humiliation he currently felt.

"I...I m-mean just as a thank you of course!" his voice was shrill and Oikawa willed himself to calm down (it didn't work). "Not as a date or anything...but I mean if...I don't want to assume anything about your relationship status...I mean its just you're very attracti...I mean.." Oikawa let out a borderline hysterical laugh. Yes, death by fire would be much more humane than this. A sharp flick to his forehead brought Oikawa out of his crazed state. A pout formed across his lips. "Owww. Iwa-chan is such a brute~." The captain scowled at the brunette.

"Well don't be such a nervous dumbass then. And I won't go on to dinner with you." The other man must have seen Oikawa's eyes widen in fear because he quickly elaborated. "I am flattered really but what you're feeling right now is just because I rescued you. Its called a rescue romance. During the rescue you're scared, adrenaline is running high, and I saved your life. After a few days things will settle and these feeling will go away." The other man spoke as if this had happened before. The thought of other people coming into the firehouse and confessing to Iwaizumi made something ugly coil in Tooru's chest. 

"I don't want to take advantage of you after such a traumatic event. You coming down to the station is more than enough." Iwaizumi tuned back to his desk, seemingly done with the conversation. Anger bubbled in the back of Oikawa's throat. He wasn't some damsel in distress who had fallen for her prince charming (even though that was kind of exactly what he was buuuutttt _shhhhh)_ and he wouldn't be brushed off so easily. If Oikawa Tooru had one flaw, which he didn't because he was God's gift to the world, it would be his stubbornness. When Oikawa wanted something he worked until he got it, never letting anything or anyone stand in his way of his goals. It was how he became the best setter his highschool prefecture had ever seen. How he had gotten a full ride to one of the top schools in Japan. How he had earned his PhD before he was 30. When Oikawa wanted something he got it, and right now he wanted Iwaizumi. 

"If I come back later this week will you go out with me then?" His words caused the other man to pause. "You said it would go away after a few days right? Well if I come back at the end of the week then that proves its not one of those stupid rescue romances. Then you can take me out to apologize for being so tactless in your rejection of my confession." Iwaizumi let out a snort and turned to face Oikawa. There was something bright dancing in those green eyes and Oikawa felt a thrill knowing he had put it there. 

"Why should I have to pay? You're the one who asked me. And who says I want to even go to dinner with you? Maybe you're not my type."

"Rude Iwa-chan~! Look at me I'm everyone's type. Even a brute like you should be able to recognize beauty" Oikawa said with a huff “And I would have paid for dinner tonight but since you insist on making me wait now you get to pay."

"I never insisted on anything and don't call me Iwa-chan, my name is Iwaizumi."

"Ah Iwa-chan lets not get caught up on the details of who said what. Do you work Friday? I'll stop by during your shift so you can tell me where we're going to eat." Iwaizumi just stared at Oikawa, his expression neutral. After a few moments of silence Oikawa felt the palms of his hands start to sweat. Had he gone too far? Oikawa wasn't even sure if Iwaizumi liked men, he was so distracted by his childish stubbornness to even think about the other man's sexuality. 

"My shift starts at 8am Friday. Its a 24 hour shift so I'll be here till Saturday morning." Oikawa felt a triumphant grin spread across his face. 

"Perfect, I can stop by on my lunch break then. Start thinking about where you're going to take me Iwa-chan! I like sushi!" Oikawa flashed Iwaizumi a smile and a peace sign as he skipped out of his office. Why had he ever been nervous? He felt like he was on top of the world. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Superman Iwa-chan to the rescue! And Oikawa gets introduced the the shit show that is the Aoba Josai firecrew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentines Day!! Here is some IwaOi love <3
> 
> Also I know gay marriage is not legal in Japan but we are pretending this fic is in an alternate universe where everyone has equal rights! (yay!)

Iwaizumi had lost track of how many times he had to tell Kuroo and Bokuto to get the fuck back to work Friday morning. After Oikawa had left, the pair made a beeline for his office, holding the captain hostage until he begrudgingly told them what had transpired.

"Come on Captain live a little! He's totally got the hots for you and its been _forever_ since you've gotten laid. Are you sure it even works anymore?" The lieutenant ducked, narrowly avoiding Iwaizumi's palm that had been aimed for the back of his head. 

"I am not having this conversation with you two idiots. Now get the hell out of my office before I make you scrub the toilets with your toothbrushes." When was the last time he had been on a date? A year? The house always teased the captain that he was married to his work, and they were right. Iwaizumi didn't become captain at the age of 26 because he slacked off; no the young man had devoted hundreds of hours to his job, foregoing a social life in the process. But he would have been lying if he said that he didn't have an attraction to Oikawa. The other man had maybe an inch on him but he was more slender, long and graceful, a stark contrast to Iwaizumi's dense muscles and broad features. When Oikawa visited Iwaizumi he was dressed in slacks that were tailored _very well_ to fit the man's slender legs, and the baby blue button up highlighted the rosiness of his lips and cheeks. Milk chocolate colored eyes were framed by large square glasses that made Iwaizumi's heart flutter in a silly school girl kind of way. (God if Kuroo ever found out he had a thing for glasses Iwaizumi would probably have to leave Japan). 

But the young captain had seen this kind of attraction before, everyone was bound to experience it at least once in their career. There was an allure that came with being a firefighter. Bokuto said it was because of the uniforms, Noya said it was because being all hot and sweaty from a fire was a real panty dropper, and Kuroo, in typically Kuroo fashion, said it was because no man or woman could resist his charm. Iwaizumi just wanted to smack all of them. But whatever the reason was, Iwaizumi knew it was a passing phase, very few people could commit to loving a firefighter, dangerous situations and long hours made relationships difficult. So when Friday morning rolled around Iwaizumi didn't get his hopes up, it was unlikely that anything was going to come of Oikawa's little confession, but when the clock ticked at noon and Iwaizumi found himself in the bay checking equipment it was because it needed to be done, not because he would be the first person seen from the road if a certain someone decided to keep their promise. 

~~~

Iwaizumi was finishing his check list when he heard a familiar "Iwa-chan!" from across the road. His eyes lifted from the clipboard and onto the figure walking up to the fire house. Oikawa was dressed in a pair of (again very nicely fitted) khaki pants, a plum sweater, and a white button up underneath. Iwaizumi wondered what the man did for a living that always made him dress so nicely, that was one of his favorite things about being a firefighter, he got to wear loose pants and t-shirts as a uniform. Those damn glasses still made Iwaizumi's heart skip off beat in his chest, and he tried to deny the warmth that spread through his chest at the fact that the other man had show up.

"So Iwa-chan have you decided where you're going to take me? I'm here which means that this isn't one of those stupid rescue romances and you owe me an apology~." The other man chirped in a sing song voice. "I don't like cheap sushi so it better be good!" Oikawa's smile was lopsided and full, there was a brightness in his eyes and a rosiness on his cheeks that made Iwaizumi get lost in the gentle sweep of his nose and the soft curl of his hair around his ears. 

"Who said I would go out with you Shittykawa?" Iwaizumi hurled out the insult with little bite, he just needed to regain some control, he needed to say something to distract the other man from the thundering in his chest. The afternoon sun was picking up the auburn highlights in Oikawa's hair and Iwaizumi found himself wanting to reach out and comb his fingers through it. The captain jolted in surprise when a hand waving in his face drew him out of his lovesick daze.

"Hello~! Iwa-chan are you even listening to me? First, you make me wait until Friday for our date and then you say you're not going, and now you're not even paying attention to me? Iwa-chan isn't doing a very good job of wooing me." Iwaizumi let out a snort.

"I'm pretty sure you're to one who confessed to me Trashikawa. I don't need to do anymore wooing." Oikawa let out a huff, his lips turning down into a petulant pout. Iwaizumi hated himself for thinking that the other man's childish antics were cute.

"Iwa-chan is so mean to me. Maybe I don't want to go on a date anymore."

"Relax, I was just kidding. I know this great hole in the wall sushi place we can go. The food is always fresh and the sake is cheap." 

"Oh Iwa-chan is trying to get me drunk on the first date. And here I thought you were a chivalrous man." Before Iwaizumi had the opportunity to defend his honor their conversation was interrupted by the cry of a loud child. At the bottom of the driveway stood a young boy, no older than 6, snot and tears were running down his cheeks and his chest heaved in sobs. 

"P-please you h-h-have to help my brother! H-he got stuck in the playground and he hurt his l-leg!" It was clear that the child was frantic, big brown eyes drowning in fear as he desperately called to the men for help. All the butterflies that previously nested in Iwaizumi's stomach moments ago were gone. The man felt himself snap into action, planning the equipment he would need for the millions of scenarios running through his head. 

"Oikawa go inside and tell Kuroo I need Engine and the Ambo at the park. Tell them there is an injured child, condition unknown." Iwaizumi spared a quick glace and the other man, chocolate brown eyes were wide in a mixture of fear and astonishment. The captain swiftly left the brunette's side and ran down to the child, scooping him up into his arms and then making his way down the sidewalk, the park was only two blocks away, it wouldn't take Iwaizumi long to get there.

"Now Oikawa!" The captain yelled over his shoulder as he began to run down the road to the park, not willing to wait for the truck when a child needed his help.

~~~

"Now Oikawa!" The harsh snap brought Oikawa out of his daze. When the little boy came p to them frantic for help, Oikawa found himself drawing a blank, but the man next to him had no hesitation. It was truly like watching a switch flip in Iwaizumi's head. His posture and features had gone from soft and relaxed to alert and focused in an instant, well he was a firefighter after all, his whole job relied on him being able to act quickly and calmly in disasters. In moments of panic and fear Iwaizumi didn't freeze, he moved, he acted, he lead (and Oikawa found it hot as fuck).

Quickly Oikawa made his way into the firehouse, following the sounds of laughter and voices. He found himself standing in a lounge/kitchen area where a large group of people were relaxing and playing games. His gaze quickly snapped to a mess of black bed head visible above a handful of UNO cards at a table in the back corner. All eyes focused on the brunette when he burst into the door frame.

"Iwaizumi needs you at the park. A little boy came crying, said his brother is hurt and stuck. Iwaizumi already started running there." Oikawa had déjà vu as he watched the silly and lighthearted expressions leave their faces after they listened to his rushed message. Kuroo was quickly on his feet.

"Engine 41 you heard the man! Child injured from unknown causes. Ambo 113 you're with us. Daichi can you tell Chief?" The large man's words sparked a flurry of movement and half of the room pushed past Oikawa and poured into the truck bay. Kuroo came up next to him and slung a heavy arm across his shoulders, pulling the brunette along with him. 

"You ready to go see your man in action lover boy?" Oikawa found he was already growing too familiar with the Cheshire Cat grin that spread across Kuroo's face. 

~~~

The ride to the park was short and Shimizu completely ignored the parking lot, opting to drive straight through the grass and next to the playground equipment instead. Huddled to one side was a small crowd of people, including Iwaizumi who was sitting on the ground. The firefighters, led by Kuroo, moved out of the truck and towards to commotion. 

"Whats going on Captain?" The crowd had parted for the rescuers, giving them all a clear view of the emergency. On the ground sat a little boy covered in snot and tears, his leg was sticking out in front of him and there was a large bump jutting out on the wrong side of his ankle. He was sitting at the bottom of what looked like a fireman's pole, but there was another piece of metal curling in a corkscrew around it, effectively trapping the boy inside. The space between the metal bars wasn't large enough for an adult to fit through and with the child's ankle he was in no condition to climb out. 

A small hand reached out to cling to Iwaizumi's when the other men approached. "These are my friends I told you about Riku. They're going to help get you out, okay?" The captain's voice was soft he tenderly brushed his thumb across the frightened child's knuckles. Kuroo bent down so that he was at eye level with the boy.

"Hey there buddy, it looks like you've gotten yourself in a bit of a mess huh? You don't need to worry though because the best firefighters ever are here and we're going to get you out now, okay?" There was another pitiful nod and sniffle from the trapped boy. A teenage girl was talking animatedly to Shimizu over by the truck, she must have been the child's babysitter or nanny. The dark haired woman rubbed the girls back soothingly as she sobbed, she was clearly distraught over the situation. Oikawa found himself thankful that he worked with college students and not children (even if they acted like them sometimes).

"Yaku get the power saw. Noya go get some headphones and a blanket from the back of the truck." At the mention of a saw the young boy started to go hysterical.

"Please don't cut my legs off!" He was screaming, legs kicking as he tried to scoot away from the firefighters, his actions caused him to knock his injured ankle around and he wailed in pain.

"Hey hey Riku!" Iwaizumi thrust both of his hands through the bars to grab the little boy's face, forcing the child to look at him. "No one is cutting your legs off. We just have to cut the bars so we can get you out. My friend is getting you a blanket and head phones to protect you and I will be here by your side the entire time. I won't let anyone hurt you." The man's soothing tone caused the little boy to calm down, screaming being reduced to sniffles and shallow breaths. Iwaizumi cooed soft encouragements as he rubbed the tears and snot off the child's face.

"P-promise you won't leave me?" Riku hiccuped. Iwaizumi reached through the bars and wrapped his arms solidly around the small boy. 

"I'm not going anywhere." After the blanket had been situated to cover the boy's body and the headphones were on, Yaku began to cut the bars that were trapping the boy. True to his word, Iwaizumi stayed next to the child throughout the entire ordeal, arms wrapped tightly around his small frame. 

Oikawa stood to the side watching the whole event in awe. Iwaizumi had remained calm and steadfast, like a shield protecting a knight in battle; no matter what was thrown at him he remained unfazed. If Oikawa wasn't infatuated with the man before, he was hopelessly so now.

Once the bars were removed there was a cheer from the crowd. The original boy, the one who had come to the firehouse to alert them of his brother's condition, ran forward and grabbed the now freed child in a tight hug. Kuroo lifted the injured child onto a gurney and walked with the paramedics, poking fun at the tall blonde who seemed far from enthusiastic about the other man's presence.

"Hey." Iwaizumi had moved from his place on the ground and now stood next to Oikawa, the crowd had disappeared at this point and the other firefighters were meandering their way back to the truck, the two men were the only ones left standing at the playground.

"That might have been the hottest thing I've ever seen." The bluntness of Oikawa's words left the other man staring at him with a baffled expression. 

"You've got some weird taste Trashikawa." His words were harsh but there was a teasing lilt in his tone and Oikawa didn't miss the faint pink blush that dusted across the captain's cheeks. Oikawa's phone beeping in his pocket halted any further conversation. The brunette groaned, why did it seem like the universe was actively trying to keep him from flirting with the world's hottest firefighter? The screen was lit up with two missed text messages. The most recent was from Makki, asking him how his chat with "the firefighter with the lickable biceps" went. Quickly Oikawa closed out of that message, eyes darting over to Iwaizumi to see if he had seen the message, thankfully he hadn't. The 2nd message was from one of is TA's asking him where he was because his office hours started in 5 minutes. The text message was 7 minutes old. Oikawa cursed under his breath. Had he really been standing out there for an hour? 

"Is everything alright?" A worried green gaze was focused on Oikawa and the other man's tone was laced with concern. God, if Tooru could have children he would have asked Iwaizumi for the honor of baring is. How could be be so hot? And respectful?!

"Yea! Yes! I just didn't realize the time and my lunch hour ended 10 minutes ago." The furrow in Iwaizumi's brow softened. 

"Well we better get you back to the station. But first" The man pulled out his own phone and handed it to Oikawa. "add your contact information so I can text you the details about dinner."

Later that evening while Oikawa sat in bed working on one of his research papers, his phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number. 

_From: Unknown_

_> Really Shittykawa? You had my phone for 30 seconds, how did you manage to change my screen saver?_

_> And you put your number on speed dial?!_

Oikawa smiled and hummed happily to himself as he saved the new number under Iwa-chan <3

~~~

The next evening Oikawa stood on a mainly empty street in front of a small restaurant in a quiet part of town. That same fluttery feeling in his stomach kept him pacing in front of the door, checking his phone every few seconds. He was early, unable to sit at home any longer, and he had hoped that the drive would calm him down, it hadn't. It was late August but the slight chill of September was already creeping into the night air. The brunette had gone shopping earlier that day for new clothes since he had lost everything in the fire but a small duffel bag of clothes he kept in his office at the university. His new jeans felt stiff and the navy sweater he had purchased wasn't enough to fight off the chill of the breeze. 

"Oi, dumbass its cold out here. Why didn't you wait for me inside?" Even in the dark under the harsh florescent street lamps Iwaizumi still managed to look sinfully good. His black jeans hugged him in all the right places, and when Oikawa saw he was in a leather jacket his mind went blank, like static on a television. When the other man got closer Oikawa could smell his cologne, pine mixed with the leather of the jacket. It was almost pathetic how hot he was for the firefighter, but then Oikawa looked at the other man and remembered that he was a _firefighter_ , and he realized that anyone with eyes and a single brain cell would react the same. 

"Rude Iwa-chan~! We're on our first data and the first thing you do is call me a dumbass. You're suppose to compliment me, that's how this whole thing works." The brunette noticed how a blush crawled across the other man's face at the word date. Green eyes cast a glace over Oikawa's shivering figure and then moved to focus on a piece of trash blowing in the street.

"You look....nice. Those pants look really good on you." His blush deepened as he muttered the compliment. It was clear the captain was unpracticed in dating, Oikawa relished in the thought that he was the one to finally peaked the man's interest enough to get him to go out.

"See was that so hard? Now lets go inside, I'm starving!"

~~~

Dinner went surprisingly well. In the beginning they were both flustered idiots, but as the conversation flowed they relaxed (the sake might have helped a little bit). Iwaizumi found himself laughing at Oikawa's over dramatic flair as spoke about his position at the university and his research; the man almost fell out of his chair as he began to tell Iwaizumi about aliens and his theories on them. The captain sat and quietly listened, enjoying the scientist's passion for his work and his students. Most of what he spoke about went over Iwaizumi's head, he was never very good at science and math in school, but Oikawa never spoke as if he were smarter or superior to him, he was just expressing his passion for his work and Iwaizumi could relate to him in that aspect.

When it was finally time to pay the bill two hours had passed and Iwaizumi found her didn't want the night to end. It had been a long time since he had been on a date, and even longer since he had been on a _good_ date. Things between him and Oikawa felt natural, the conversation between them was effortless, and Iwaizumi had no trouble relaxing and laughing with the other man. 

As they stepped out into the night air a small breeze caused a violent shiver to run through Oikawa's body. The temperature had dropped several degrees while they had been inside. "Here take this." Iwaizumi shrugged off his leather jacket and placed it around the other man's shoulders, and the captain enjoyed the flustered noise the brunette made in protest.

"But now you'll be cold!"

"I'm not a big baby. I'll be fine." Oikawa clearly didn't enjoy Iwaizumi's rebuttal, there was a soft huff of "Iwa-chan" under his breath, but he relented and pulled the jacket tight around himself. Iwaizumi told himself it was the sake that caused a warm heat to pool in the bottom of his stomach, not the sight of Oikawa in his jacket. The pair walked in silence for awhile, just enjoying the others company, as they neared the train station Iwaizumi felt a frown pull heavy at his lips; he did not want to go back home to an empty apartment. The days off after a 24 hour shift were always the worst, and after their date Iwaizumi came to the realization that he was very very tired of being alone. 

"Hey do you want to go out to a bar? Kuroo's fiance owns one that's only a few blocks from here. Its the local firefighter hang out so you'll be able to meet the whole crew." The Black Cat was owned by Kozume Kenma, childhood best friend and fiance to Kuroo. A few of the guys took turns bartending, the owner not being very sociable was more than happy to relinquish the responsibility. Kenma mainly worked behind the scenes, while Kuroo had become to face of the bar.

"The trains stop running in a few hours and the friends I'm staying with live out in the suburbs."

"Stay with me. I live in the neighborhood." Iwaizumi's head felt light and the suggestion made his lips tingle. He really didn't want Oikawa to leave, after all night of being around the other man's bright presence the idea of going home to a cold apartment made his stomach churn. He reached out and grabbed one of Oikawa's hands, rubbing his thumb slowly across the brunette's knuckles.

"If you don't want to that's fine it's just....I'm having a really good time and I don't want you to go yet. If you come to the bar I'll pay for a cab to your friend's place." The sake they had drank with dinner was doing wonders for his nerves, without it Iwaizumi would have let the confession die on his lips and he would have been standing on an empty platform, watching Oikawa go home. 

"No! I-I want to come to the bar..and..." The brunette looked flustered, a dark blush had spread across his cheeks and his eyes were trained on the soft movements of Iwaizumi's thumb. "I want to come over too." Long fingers intertwined with Iwaizumi's as he spoke his last sentence. Despite the chill of the crisp air around them, Iwaizumi felt warm.

"Okay. Come on the bar is this way."

~~~

Iwaizumi should have warned Oikawa about the scene that lay before them. The bar was packed, it was a Saturday after a 24 hours shift of course it was going to be packed. Almost the entirety of Squad 1 was there and a few of them had brought their significant others along with them. Kuroo, Bokuto, and Terushima were behind the bar, all three chanting "CHUG CHUG CHUG" as the newest member of the Aoba Josai firehouse, Kageyama Tobio, was attempting to guzzle what looked like an Boilermaker. Two pairs of golden eyes turned to the figures in the doorway, and Kuroo and Bokuto gave each other a look that Iwaizumi knew would cause him a headache later. Terushima was too distracted congratulating his kohai to notice the couple.

"Captain! I see you date went well." Kuroo gave them a wink as he looked down to where their hands were still joined. "Hello lover boy! Welcome to The Black Cat! What would you like to drink?" Oikawa was taking in the chaos surprisingly well, he moved to a free seat at the bar next to Daichi, setting both his elbows down on the counter and resting his chin in his palms.

"Whats your specialty?" Before Kuroo could answer Daichi shot up a hand to silence him.

"You don't want to do that, at least if you want to be able to remember the next 24 hours." The other lieutenant had gone to both high school and college with Kuroo, he was speaking from experience.

"Well I'm staying with Iwa-chan tonight so he'll take care of me." The flirty statement, topped off with a wink to Iwaizumi over his shoulder, caused the three men behind the bar to roar with excitement. 

"One Zombie coming right up!" Kuroo began to move behind the bar, whistling a little tune as he mixed up his hellish concoction.

"Before you drink that let me introduce you to everyone. The idiots behind the bar are Kuroo, who you've already had the displeasure of meeting. The guy with the zebra stripes is Bokuto and the fratboy reject with the tongue piercing is Terushima. They're both on truck with Daichi." The lieutenant grunted and took a large swig of his drink as Iwaizumi clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"Aw don't act like you don't love us lieutenant. We keep you young." Terushima slid another drink to his boss, who happily traded it for his empty glass.

"I'm pretty sure I've aged 40 years since you've joined squad Terushima."

"Daichi is the only other person in the firehouse besides Shimizu and myself with more than four brain cells." Iwaizumi's statement earned him several wounded looks from his crew and a chuckle from Daichi.

"Thanks Captain. And its nice to meet you..."

"Oikawa Tooru." The brunette answered as Kuroo returned with an obnoxiously orange drink (Seriously it looked kind of radioactive. Drinks weren't suppose to glow like that.) and set it down in front of Oikawa.

"Voila! A Zombie! I've been perfecting this bad boy since college. A few of those and we will have you dancing on the bar." Iwaizumi took a deep breath and reminded himself that Kuroo was one of his best friends and murder was frowned upon in the eyes of the law. "And here is yours Cap. Boring and old fashioned just like you." A short glass containing only whiskey and ice was placed on the bar in front of him. Iwaizumi hummed appreciatively and took a sip of the amber liquid, the heat crawling down his throat restored some of his waning patience. 

"This is really good!" In two consecutive slurps Oikawa had managed to drain half of the mixed drink in front of him. The dark chuckle that bubbled from Kuroo's throat made Iwaizumi sigh, Kuroo was on toilet cleaning duty for the rest of the month.

"Would you like another?" Make that the rest of the year.

"Kuro no." A soft voice from behind the bar had taken the words right out of Iwaizumi's mouth. Thankfully the one person in the world who had Kuroo wrapped around their pinky finger had emerged from his hiding place, his timing was impeccable.

"But Kenmaaaa he's Iwaizumi's date! And the idiot brought him here! The universe has given me this opportunity and who am I to waste such a beautiful gift?" The smaller man just stood next to his fiance, the bored expression never leaving his face.

"Oikawa meet the owner of The Black Cat and the unfortunate soul that will soon be tied to Kuroo through marriage, Kozume Kenma." Kenma gave Oikawa a small nod of acknowledgement. His half bleached hair was tied into a loose ponytail and some strands loosely framed his face.

"Hey, I'm an amazing boyfriend and wonderful fiance. Right Kenma?"

"No." The deadpanned expression and dismissive tone made the taller man balk in exaggerated astonishment. 

"Kitten why must you wound me so?"

"I'm leaving." And with those words Kenma turned away from the group and opened a door behind the bar, presumably his office, and shut himself inside. Kuroo let out a heavy sigh and placed his hands over his heart. 

"Isn't he dreamy? I love when he pretends to hate me. It gets me all tingly." His statement was punctuated by a waggle of his eyebrows and a high-five with Bokuto.

"Kuroo you're a pervert. That man deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for putting up with your shit for 22 years." Iwaizumi finished off his drink and pushed the glass towards Kuroo, he was going to need more alcohol to deal with the dumpster fire he called his friends.

"Oh me too please!" Oikawa had been oddly quiet throughout the exchange and Iwaizumi now saw why, he had drained his drink and was now nudging his own empty glass towards the bartender. Iwaizumi settled himself behind the stool Oikawa was perched on, placing a hand on the brunette's side; the other man leaned into Iwaizumi's chest, humming happily at the contact.

"I need to finish introducing you to people before you drink so much you forget your own name. The guy on the other side of Daichi is Sugawara, Daichi's boyfriend, the guy with the black hair Suga is talking to is Akaashi, Bokuto's husband." Oikawa let out a squawk at the new information.

"Bokuto is married to that guy! He's gorgeous though!" Thankfully Bokuto was down at the other end of the bar lining up shots for Yaku and Nishinoya and was out of earshot of their conversation. 

"Yea they've been married for three years now. They met in college and they kind of just work really well. Bokuto is a super loud guy but he has terrible mood swings and horrible self confidence, Akaashi is always there to scoop him up and piece him back together though. And Akaashi is gorgeous and smart but super quiet and is easily forgotten, Bokuto kind of just latched onto him and makes sure Akaashi always knows he is loved. Its because of Bokuto's support that Akaashi pursued his dream of modeling and now he models for the top designers. He actually just got back from a big event in Paris.”

”And how did Dai-chan and Suga meet?” Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow at the nickname, it seemed like he wasn’t going to be the only unfortunate soul who couldn’t escape Oikawa’s horrendous nicknames.

“Suga is a high school guidance councilor. Daichi and I went to his school to host a safety training workshop for the class and Suga shamelessly flirted with him the whole time. Poor Daichi was oblivious to it all though, so Suga stole his phone and programmed his number into it. It took four days for Daichi to notice." Iwaizumi rubbed soft circles on Oikawa's side as he reminisced, chuckling to himself softly.

"Over at that table is the rest of Engine 41. Yahaba, Shirabu, and Kunimi are the three having a normal conversation. Nishinoya and Yaku are the two idiots trying to arm wrestle. The lady with the dark hair is Shimizu, she drives the engine. The bald guy currently egging Nishinoya on his her boyfriend, Tanaka. He's some fancy chemist and is working on some drug to cure Alzheimer's disease."

"Really? He's a chemist and she's a firefighter?" Oikawa asked incredulously, pulling the straw from his new drink into his mouth and taking a long sip.

"Oh trust me we've all had this conversation already." Like most of the couples at the firehouse, Kiyoko and Tanaka didn't make much sense on paper but in practice they balanced each other out perfectly. 

"Those four over there are Kageyama, Hinata, Yamaguchi, and Tsukishima. Kageyama and Yamaguchi are on truck with Daichi. Tsukishima is a paramedic and Yamaguchi's boyfriend. Hinata is one of Yamaguchi's friends and he and Kageyama....there's a lot of sexual tension there but they're both idiots." The young men had been dancing around each other for months, the pool on how long it would take for them to finally do something had grown to over 21,000 yen; Iwaizumi had bet that it would happen sometime around Christmas. Currently, the orange ball of fuzz was dancing around Kageyama, holding the latter's drink just out of his reach. It was clear the taller man had had too much to drink, his movements were sluggish and sloppy, his insults were slurred and getting more and more creative, Hinata just flitted about, laughing and teasing his drunk friend. Tsukishima watched the entire interaction with a sour look on his face, one arm wrapped loosely around Yamaguchi's waist the other holding his drink. Poor Yamaguchi was trying to calm the other two down, chastising Hinata for teasing Kageyama and trying to get Kageyama to drink a glass of water, the young man looked to his boyfriend for help but the blonde chose that moment to take a large gulp of his own drink.

"Is everyone at this firehouse gay?" Oikawa was leaning heavily against Iwaizumi now, the latter wrapped his arm entirely around the brunette's waist. Both had finished their 2nd drinks and were pleasantly buzzed.

"Only Yamaguchi and myself identify as gay. Everyone else falls somewhere on the queer spectrum or identify as straight. The four guys that aren't here, Ennoshita, Ushijima, Semi, and Komi are all in heterosexual relationships. Ennoshita actually has two kids. Yahaba is married and he and his wife are expecting their first born around Christmas." Oikawa hummed at the information, playing with the straw in his 3rd Zombie (When the hell did he get that? Iwaizumi really needed to get him a glass of water). His hair tickled Iwaizumi's cheek, it smelled like coconut and was every bit as soft as Iwaizumi expected it to be. 

"I think its really cool how you know so much about them all. You guys seem like one big family." The bar was chaotic, there was chatter everywhere, yelling from the rowdier crew members, but everyone was smiling and laughing. Iwaizumi felt a swell of pride in his chest, he belonged to the best firehouse in all of Japan.

"We are one big family. When you're going into a fire you have to have 100% faith in your crew members, in that environment there is no room for doubt or fear. When we go to work we have to be one unit. I trust them with my life, they have prove themselves capable time and time again."

"Aw Iwa-chan you're such a sappy drunk." The brunette twisted himself around in his chair and wrapped his arms around Iwaizumi's waist, tucking his head into the crook of the captain's neck. "You know Iwa-chan I am not a sappy drunk." Iwaizumi's brows furrowed in confusion and he opened his mouth to ask Oikawa what he meant but then the brunette nipped lightly at his pulse and the words died on the captain's lips. Slowly the brunette started to place small open mouth kisses along the curve of his jaw. Suddenly, Iwaizumi felt very hot in just his t-shirt, the din of the bar faded around him as he focused on the feeling of Oikawa's wet lips on his neck. His grip tightened around the other man's waist and this action did not go unnoticed. 

"You see Iwa-chan when I am drunk I get _hungry_." Oikawa accentuated that last word by nibbling softly at the swell of Iwaizumi's collarbone. The hot puffs of Oikawa's breath against his skin made Iwaizumi's head spin, he felt his jeans begin to tighten as a consequence of the other man's actions.

"Take me home Iwaizumi." Oikawa's voice was rough against his ear, his eyes were lidded and his pupils had blow wide, a thin strip of amber surrounded black. Iwaizumi found himself bewitched by Oikawa's lustful gaze, only managing a weak nod in response. He finally tore his gaze away to find Kuroo and settle his tab, green eyes met gold, a knowing smirk already on Kuroo's lips as he watched the pair. He raised a hand and shooed Iwaizumi away, mouthing _"You owe me."_ as Iwaizumi ripped Oikawa out of his seat and they hurried out of the bar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Sorry to leave you on a bit of a cliff hanger, I really wanted to get this chapter out tonight and I didn't have any sexy time prewritten so I'm making it the beginning of the next chapter. Chapter 3 coming soon!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sexual Content Warning: The beginning of this chapter contains sexual content. If thats not your thing then just control f to ~~~ and you'll skip it all. There is a small shower scene but that doesn't go past a small makeout sesh. 
> 
> The rest of the chapter is just some cute IwaOi fluff and Oikawa being a cool scientist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to get an update out! This isnt the only fic I am curently working on and sometimes I just have more inspiration for one over the other. Plus its midterm season and so college has been kicking my ass. This is my first time writing smut so I hope you all like it! Thank you so much for reading <3
> 
> PS: I also know nothing about astrophysics (Im in Wildlife Conservation) so I just used google scholar and looked at recent papers published in the field! I'm not entirely sure if the topics make much sense so I apologize to any astrophysicists out there!

The walk to Iwaizmi's apartment felt like _forever._ Now that Oikawa has tasted that bronzed skin he was addicted, continuously trying to sneak kisses as they walked down the darkened streets. When they finally reached Iwaizumi's door the firefighter dropped his keys 3 times before he succeeded in opening it. Once inside Oikawa found himself pressed against the now closed door and Iwaizumi's lips quickly latched onto his own in a heated kiss. God Iwaizumi could **_kiss._** His tongue swiped against Oikawa's bottom lip and the brunette opened his mouth, greedily wrapping his tongue around Iwaizumi's. Oikawa's hands scrambled under Iwaizumi's shirt, enjoying the way the other man shivered underneath his touch.

Iwaizumi's lips pulled away from his own but immediately traced their way down Oikawa's jaw and down to his pulse point, latching onto the skin there and sucking. Oikawa threw his head back against the door and moaned, his head felt light and he didn't know if was drunk from the alcohol or from the way Iwaizumi's calloused hands ran up his torso, mapping out every inch of his skin under his shirt. His thoughts felt syrupy, and all Oikawa could do was focus on the electricity flowing through him as Iwaizumi kissed along the bottom of his jaw.

Oikawa was painfully hard in his jeans, desperately shifting his hips in an attempt to get any kind of friction. Iwaizumi must have noticed his actions because suddenly there was a knee slotted between is thighs and Oikawa banged his head against the door and saw stars when he ground against it. Suddenly, Oikawa felt something grind up against his hip right as Iwaizumi bit down at the spot where his neck met his shoulder, and both of the men let out low heady groans. 

"Why do we still have clothes on and where is your bed?" Slender fingers pulled at the hem of Iwaizumi's shirt to further his point. Iwaizumi let out a breathy chuckle against his neck and Oikawa felt his cock twitch in his pants. If he didn't see the firefighter naked in the next 10 seconds he was going to explode. The other man pulled away and the whine that ripped itself from Oikawa's throat was desperate, but he couldn't find the will to be embarrassed. His desperate need for contact outweighing his pride. Their fingers intertwined and Iwaizumi led them away from the front door and to what Oikawa prayed was his bedroom. 

The first door on the right was opened but Oikawa never got the opportunity to look at what was inside because Iwaizumi tugged him forward and pressed their lips together in another desperate kiss. It was _filthy,_ all teeth and tongue as they groped each other, each man drinking the other like they had been trapped in the desert and found an oasis. Oikawa stepped backwards until his knees hit the edge of something soft and he fell backwards, ah finally a bed. 

Iwaizumi crawled onto the bed on top of Oikawa, straddling him, and in one swift movement pulled his shirt off over his head and tossed it behind him. The sight before Oikawa made him drool. Flawless tanned skin stretched over rippling muscles that had Oikawa very badly wanted to taste, so he did. He licked a long stripe from the curve of Iwaizumi's pectoral, up his neck, and along the sharp edge of his jaw. The action had earned him a rough moan and a roll of the hips that left them both gasping. 

The rest of their clothes were quickly shed until the two of them were left in just their boxers. They had moved to lay down on their sides, hands still mapping their way across skin, and lips still locked in a desperate kiss that left them both struggling for air. Oikawa hoped that Iwaizumi could feel how badly he wanted this, how desperately he _needed_ to have more of Iwaizumi. Oikawa felt like he was being swallowed by fire, but instead of lifting him out of it, Iwaizumi was spreading it across his skin with every drag of his fingertips. 

Its no secret that both of them are aching for release, rutting up against each other like desperate teenagers in the backseat of a car. Iwaizumi reached down to palm at Oikawa through the damp cotton of his boxers and the brunette threw his head back in a moan. 

"P-please Iwa-chan." Oikawa was frantic, he needed something, his body was screaming for more, more, **_more._**

"Fuck Oikawa." Iwaizumi's voice was shattered and the sound of his name on those lips made Oikawa's head spin. Rough hands pulled down both their boxers and Oikawa hissed as his erection was finally freed. Calloused fingers wrapped around both of them and one short tug knocked the air out of Oikawa's lungs. They were both already slick with precome and it didn't take long for Iwaizumi to fall into a jerky rhythm. His technique was far from refined but it was rough and fast and everything they both needed. 

A chant of Iwaizumi's name punctuated by whimpers and moans fell from Oikawa's lips. He left sloppy kisses along whatever skin his lips could find, craving the contact like an addict. Heat pooled in the bottom of his stomach, and with every slick pump of Iwaizumi's hands that heat spread until it enveloped all of him. 

"F-fuck O-Oikawa." Iwaizumi had been mostly silent, the only noises leaving his lips were his ragged breaths and low moans, but Oikawa made up for both of them, unable to keep quiet as he thrust against Iwaizumi. The brunette sloppily slotted his lips against Iwaizumi's as his orgasm took over him. His vision went white as he shuddered into the other man's hand, covering it and both of their cocks in his release. He barely registered Iwaizumi's harsh gasp against his lips as he reached his own climax. The only sound left in the room was their ragged gasps for air, the smell of sex and alcohol hung thick in the air.

Oikawa just laid there, it felt like his brain was moving through molasses and his body felt boneless. Now satiated the full brunt of his intoxication washed over him. He felt a rough fabric hastily wipe off his stomach and hips, shuddering as it brushed over his flagging erection. 

"That better not be my sweater Iwa-chan." Sleep began to seep into his bones and keeping his eyes open had become an intense chore. The bed dipped beside him and a strong arm tugged him forward. Oikawa hummed happily at the new found warmth and drifted off into a blissful sleep.

~~~

When forest green eyes finally opened against the bright light of the afternoon sun, Iwaizumi felt as if he had risen from the dead. His head pounded in his skull and his mouth tasted like actual shit. Memories of the previous night flooded back to him and a flush crawled across his cheeks. He had practically dragged Oikawa out of the bar and his motives for doing so were not subtle. (Kuroo was never going to let him live that down)

Speaking of the brunette that started this whole mess, where was he? Iwaizumi sat up to find nothing but rumpled sheets and an empty bed next to him. His heart sank. Had he just been some conquest? A quick lay so Oikawa could check "fuck a firefighter" off of some pervy bucketlist? Sitting in silence for a moment Iwaizumi could hear the faint hum of his shower running in the background, and he took a deep shaky breath. He rubbed his hands against his face, pushing away all thoughts of doubt and insecurity. Oikawa _liked_ him and had worked to prove that to Iwaizumi.

The sound of the shower continued to hum in the background and Iwaizumi couldn't help the soft smile that spread across his lips. Of course that asshole would just make himself at home. Though the idea of a nice warm shower did sound heavenly, and one with a naked Oikawa in it sounded even better.

Iwaizumi crawled out of bed, not bothering to fix the state of his undress since he was just going to get in the shower, and made his way to the bathroom. The door was slight a jar so it was easy to slip in unnoticed. Steam filled the bathroom, Iwaizumi's water bill was definitely going to be more this month but he couldn't find the will to care. The idea of a hot and naked Oikawa behind the navy shower curtain made him go predatory as he stalked towards the shower, his prey blissfully unaware of his presence. 

The shriek Oikawa let out when Iwaizumi jerked back the shower curtain with a soft "boo" had the captain doubled over in laughter. Oikawa scrunched his nose in a petulant pout and swatted at the back of Iwaizumi's head. 

"Iwa-chan how mean! What if you caused me to fall and I hit my head? The bathroom is no place for games." Iwaizumi gave a sly smirk as he stepped into the shower behind Oikawa, wrapping his arms loosely around his waist and planting soft kisses against the column of his throat as an apology. 

"If you fell then I'd just rescue you again. Then I'd earn another special thank you right?" Iwaizumi latched onto the skin at the base of Oikawa's neck, a dark purple bruise already there as a reminder of their late night escapades. Oikawa hummed happily at the attention, allowing Iwaizumi's hands to lazily run across his abdomen and hips. 

"If I get this every morning after I say thank you, Iwa-chan can save me every day." Oikawa leaned down to capture Iwaizumi's mouth with his own, but pulled away after a few seconds of contact, his nose was wrinkled with disgust.

"Iwa-chan needs to brush his teeth." Iwaizumi just let out a huff and rolled his eyes. He reached past Oikawa to grab his shampoo bottle only to have it plucked from his hands by the brunette. Oikawa popped open the bottle and poured some of the soap into his hands and began to work the shampoo into Iwaizumi's hair. The captain groaned in appreciation and let his head fall forward as Oikawa's fingers worked their magic. 

"After we get out of here do you want to go get some breakfast?"

"Iwa-chan must have not looked at the clock because its almost 1:00pm." 1:00pm!? Iwaizumi hadn't slept in that late since college. Oikawa maneuvered him under the warm spray, gently washing the suds from his hair. Iwaizumi let himself relax under the water, putty in the other man's hands. It had been years since someone had taken care of him like this, his last serious relationship had been in college, and since then he had mostly been alone. It felt nice to feel Oikawa run a soapy washcloth over his chest and arms. Iwaizumi mainly focused on the water against his skull and the warmth of the steam around him, he felt at peace. 

A soft hand on his cheek pulled Iwaizumi out his his haze, milk chocolate eyes were overflowing with warmth as they looked at Iwaizumi. Their lips met for a brief series of soft kisses. Both of them just sat enveloped in the warmth of the shower, enjoying each other's presence without a care in the world. After their shower they made their way back to bed, deciding to order takeout so they didn't have to face the real world just yet, for now it could just be the two of them with lazy kisses and soft touches, wrapped up in a cocoon of blankets in the afternoon sun. 

They spent all day like that and now, hours after the sun had set, Iwaizumi found himself laying on the couch watching some space documentary on TV with Oikawa tucked snuggly into his side. The brunette was raptly watching the screen, spouting out random facts about the galaxies and stars the British man on the television was talking about. Iwaizumi couldn't be bothered to keep up with the subtitles so he opted to watch Oikawa instead. 

The other man had changed into one of Iwaizumi's faded work t-shirts and a pair of sweatpants; Hajime found that he took great pleasure in seeing Oikawa wearing his clothes. Soft pink lips were parted in fascination, a small gasp escaping past them whenever the screen flipped to a new image. Wide mocha brown eyes were framed by those damn glasses that made Iwaizumi's heart do stupid things. Even in the soft light of the TV, squished on the couch in pajamas, Oikawa was still beautiful. 

Neither of them had mentioned Oikawa leaving for the night, and Iwaizumi's chest swelled with glee when it was clear that Oikawa planned on staying over again. Even though they had done nothing all day it had been one of the best days off Iwaizumi had had in months. They had been wrapped up in each other and everything felt effortless and easy. Iwaizumi squeezed the arm wrapped around Oikawa, and when the other man turned his head around to question him, Iwaizumi captured his lips, pulling him into a slow lazy kiss.

"What was that for?" Oikawa hummed happily when they finally pulled apart.

"I'm just happy you came back to the firehouse." They spent the rest of the night in a mess of tangled limbs, unable to tell where one man started and the other ended. 

The next morning Oikawa had to leave, both of them stalled with drawn out kisses for as long as possible, and when the brunette left Iwaizumi found that the cold dark feeling of loneliness didn't creep up on him. Instead he felt the tingle of Oikawa's lips on his own, and every once empty room was now filled to the brim with warm memories of the other man. 

Over the months to come each room would begin to overflow with memories and reminders of Oikawa Tooru. Soon he had his own drawers and part of the closet. His stupidly expensive shampoos and body wash took up too much space in Iwaizumi's shower. Somehow almost every mug in his cabinets had been replaced with garish space themed ones. The once blank spaces on the walls were filled with pictures of their adventures, the two of them at Disney Tokyo, a group picture of them and the fire crew at Kuroo's birthday party, them at the beach. 

Like a strong wind Oikawa blew out the cold emptiness that had permeated the apartment before Iwaizumi met him, replacing it with warmth and laughter. Fore once Iwaizumi didn't dread coming back to it at the end of a shift, it didn't feel like a place he didn't belong anymore; finally began to feel like home.

~~~

9 months later

"Oikawa come to bed." The brunette was hunched over his computer on Iwaizumi's couch, papers spread out on every surface around him. Oikawa's lab had received funding from the Tsukuba Space Center for research on the Stellar evolution of neutron stars, and now that the study was wrapping up it was time to present his findings. The scientist had been working nonstop for weeks trying to get everything together, obsessing over every minute detail. Currently, it was well past 1:00am, and when Iwaizumi went to bed at 11:00pm he had had an arm full of Oikawa, so imagine his surprise when he woke up 3 hours later to a cold empty bed. 

Iwaizumi wasn't mad, he was extremely proud of Oikawa and his work (even if he had no idea what any of it meant), but he was worried about his boyfriend. When Oikawa was focused he would work tirelessly, throwing himself into the project with everything he had, and often neglecting to take care of himself in the process. Which was why Iwaizumi had made sure to spend almost every night with Oikawa to make sure the other man did the things he needed to do to survive, like eat and sleep. 

"Just 5 more minutes. I want to get these graphs made for the manuscript." Iwaizumi sighed and walked over to the couch, situating himself behind Oikawa, chin on his shoulder, watching him create graphs and charts out of numbers and equations that looked more like sentences than math. When Oikawa finished the graph he was working on, Iwaizumi slapped his hands away from the computer, saved the file, and closed the lid before Oikawa could start another.

"Iwa-chan please just let me finish these. They need to get done!"

"They'll be there in the morning. Right now we're going to go to bed. Come on I have to go in for my 48 hour shift tomorrow and I don't want to spend my last night in bed alone." Guilt washed across Oikawa's face and the brunette bit back whatever argument had been on his lips. The two went back to bed and Iwaizumi pulled Oikawa into his arms, the heavy pull of sleep on his eyelids the second his head hit the pillow.

"You should have stayed in bed. You need to be well rested for work tomorrow."

"I'll be fine Shittykawa. One of us has to take care of your dumbass." Iwaizumi pulled Oikawa closer to him, tangling their legs together under the blankets. "Besides 'leep better with you anyway." He mumbled sleepily into a head of silky brown hair, pressing a soft kiss to the crown of Oikawa's head. It wasn't long till both of their breathing evened out.

When his alarm went off 4 hours later, Iwaizumi briefly entertained the idea of staying in bed just so he could watch the soft rise and fall of Oikawa's chest as he slept curled up on the other side of the bed. The captain sighed as he tried to tip toe around the room as quietly to allow Oikawa every second of sleep possible, god knows the idiot wouldn't be getting much of it next few nights. Only when he was completely dressed and ready to go did he sit down on the edge of the bed, lightly running his hands through Oikawa's hair. Iwaizumi had been a firefighter long enough to know that coming back at the end of a shift was a luxury not a guarantee; he always made sure to say goodbye before he left.

Oikawa turned towards him, humming sleepily, big brown eyes blinked up at him.

"Iwa? You're leaving already?" The disappointment in his voice was not lost on Iwaizumi, he knew out tough his schedule could be. They managed the 24 hour shifts easily enough, but the 48 hour ones seemed to last an eternity. Iwaizumi leaned down and pressed several soft kisses against Oikawa's pliant lips. It was difficult to believe that there was a time in Iwaizumi's life where he woke up in an empty bed that he couldn't wait to get out of, now he wanted to sink back into the covers and stay curled up next to Oikawa forever.

"Yea, I've got to go. Call me on your lunch break okay? And make sure you actually eat something, not just chips and coffee." He pressed another soft kiss to Oikawa's forehead, letting the contact linger for a moment, just enjoying the touch. Slender hands cupped his cheeks and pulled him down for a slow lazy kiss, the last rational brain cell left in Iwaizumi's head told him that he was going to be late for work.

"Love you." He mumbled against Oikawa, pressing their lips together for one last kiss before he pulled away.

Oikawa had been the first to say it, they had been dating for about 3 months when he did. There was a bad house fire that Squad 1 had been called to and Oikawa saw him enter the house on the news. Nothing had gone wrong during the call, but apparently the news didn't show Iwaizumi leaving the house, they did however show the house collapsing in on itself. When they got back to the firehouse Iwaizumi found a distraught Oikawa in his office and 35 voicemails on his cellphone. The brunette had sobbed against Iwaizumi, clinging to him like might float away. 

They had a very serious discussion about Iwaizumi's career that night, and Iwaizumi gave Oikawa the opportunity to back out. He knew not many people could handle the stress and fear that came with loving someone in such a dangerous profession. It had taken everything Iwaizumi had not to break down when he told Oikawa it was okay to leave, that his happiness was the most important thing in the world. 

Instead of leaving, Oikawa grabbed both of Iwaizumi's hands in his own, long pale fingers standing out in stark contrast against Iwaizumi's soot stained ones. The confession was quiet and Iwaizumi almost thought he had misheard the other man." _I love you Hajime._ " Those words still rang clearly in Iwaizumi's ears 6 months later, and now they rolled off his lips easily as he stared down into the sleepy eyes of his lover. 

"I love you too Hajime." Iwaizumi knew he would never tire of hearing those words.

~~~

Oikawa always dreaded the weeks when Iwaizumi had to work a double shift. With the presentation of his research fast approaching, Oikawa had become dependent on Iwaizumi to reel him back to reality; like a lighthouse guiding a ship through a storm. Shortly after Iwaizumi left, Oikawa got dressed and headed to the university. He had a long meeting scheduled with his PhD student that had helped him with the bulk of the research, the student would be publishing a section of the study as his own thesis. By the time he got to his office the other man was already sitting in the chair across from his desk waiting for him.

"Azu-chan! I hope I didn't keep you waiting long!" The large man jumped at the sound of his voice. Azumane Asahi was an enigma of a human being. His appearance led you to believe that he was a brutish and intimidating man but in reality he was a gentle soul who had fallen in love with the stars. Asahi was easily Oikawa's favorite graduate student (granted he was only his 2nd since becoming a professor, the other graduating last semester), and while he was extremely proud of Asahi's work, he was said it meant their time together was ending. 

"N-no Sensei! I just got here a few minutes ago."

"Azu-chan I told you to cut it out with the sensei stuff, you're 2 years older than me. And as soon as we get this paper published you'll be Dr. Azu-chan." They talked about the edits given to them by the journal and Asahi's defense that was being held in little over a month. Asahi was one of the smartest men that Oikawa had ever done research with, his work was amazing, but in front of a crowd he was reduced to a blubbering puddle of self-doubt. The professor knew the defense was going to be extremely difficult for him. 

"Hey, I have an idea! You can practice you defense at the firehouse! Iwa-chan has a 48 hour shift so we can go there tomorrow. That way you can practice speaking in front of strangers." Asahi balked at him with wide eyes. 

"T-there is no way I could do that Oikawa-sensei! W-what if I mess up? They'll think I'm an idiot!"

"It's better to mess up in front of a bunch of super hot firefighters who have no idea what you're talking about instead of all the people who funded the research right?" Oikawa watched the other man chew on his lip nervously, mulling over his words. Asahi had met Iwaizumi before, he was intimidated by the captain at first but eventually warmed up to him. He had heard some of the crazy stories Iwaizumi had told about his co-workers, but the firefighters were good people, they would never mock Asahi for any mistakes he made.

"O-okay! I'll do it." Asahi gave a defeated sigh but Oikawa knew that this would benefit him in the long run.

"Perfect! I'll call Iwa-chan at lunch and ask him. Now go work on those edits." After Asahi left Oikawa threw himself into his work, Asahi wasn't the only one who had papers to edit. The sound of his phone ringing drew Oikawa away from the Word document on his computer screen. After searching through the piles of papers scattered on his desk Oikawa found his phone, a picture of Iwaizumi in Mickey Mouse ears lit up the screen. Whenever he got a call from Iwaizumi while he was on a shift Oikawa's heart started to race. He tried to keep his mind blank as he answered the phone.

"Hello Iwa-chan~!"

"Ah so you are alive." The other man said dryly. "I've texted you like 10 times Shittykawa. You were suppose to call me during your lunch." Oikawa's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Asahi has just left and their meeting ended at 10, he still had a few hours till it was lunch time. Brown eyes flickered down to the clock on his computer screen and the numbers 2:45 blinked back at him. _Oh._

"I'm sorry Iwa-chan....I..."

"Got caught up in edits and didn't see the time." Iwaizumi finished his sentence for him. This back and forth was well rehearsed between them. "I was planning on calling earlier but we got a call. I just got back to the firehouse." Oikawa doubted that he would ever get used to Iwaizumi going on calls, the brunette was content to believe that Iwaizumi sat in the lounge every shift, spending his days yelling at Kuroo and Bokuto. 

"What kind of call?"

"Car accident. A semi hauling chickens tipped over on the interstate. We spent 2 hours chasing chickens around the road. By we I mean I watched Kuroo and Bokuto chase chickens while Daichi and I laughed." The imagery of the members of Aoba Josai firehouse running around trying to wrangle chickens made a lopsided grin spread across Oikawa's face. It was a genuine smile, one reserved for Iwaizumi and Iwaizumi alone. Hopefully the news had caught some of the shenanigans and he would be able to watch it later.

"So I take it you haven't eaten lunch?" Oikawa eyes the half eaten can on Pringles sitting on his desk guiltily. 

"No."

"Why don't you bring your work over here for a little bit? I can order you something while you drive over." Guilt firmly settled itself in Oikawa's chest. He didn't want Iwaizumi to feel like he had to watch him constantly, and he didn't want to distract him while he was at work. Oikawa pushed away all thoughts of Iwaizumi having an accident on the job because he was too busy worrying about him out of his brain.

"Iwa-chan I don't need you to babysit me. Plus you're working, its unprofessional for me to be there." Oikawa could practically hear Iwaizumi's eyes roll over the phone. 

"I'm not babysitting you Asskawa, I'm just making sure you eat some food. You're not a sponge, you can't just filter feed. But you don't have to come here, just promise me that you'll take a break and eat something." The concern in Iwaizumi's voice made Oikawa want to bang his head against the table, he really was the worst boyfriend ever (Or Iwaizumi was the most perfect one ever. Tooru liked to believe the latter was the truth). The brunette hated how much of a burden he had been recently. 

"Iwa-chan are you my mom?" The growl on the other end of the phone made Oikawa quickly elaborate. "Fine, fine I promise I'll go eat right after this call!"

"You better Trashkawa, and remember that popcorn doesn't count as dinner."

"Yes, yes I know. Believe it or not Iwa-chan I survived my adult years perfectly fine before we started dating. I know how to feed myself."

"I saw your cooking skills when we first started dating Shittykawa, you did not know how to feed yourself. Listen I better go, I just watched Terushima carry 4 cans of shaving cream out of the bathroom. I would like to stop whatever disaster he is planning before he has the chance to ruin my firehouse."

"Wait Iwa-chan! Do you think Azu-chan and I could come by tomorrow? His defense is coming up and he needs to practice his public speaking skills. I think it would help if it was in front of people who don't know anything about astrophysics." Plus getting to see Iwa-chan and the other eye candy that worked at the firehouse was an added bonus.

"Sure. I can't promise we won't get a call or that they won't act like idiots though. You guys can drop by after lunch. I'll text you if we are busy." There was a loud shout in the background of the call and Iwaizumi cursed under his breath. "Hey I've really got to go. Yaku is threatening to run Terushima over with the engine. Love you."

"Love you too bye!" The second the words left his lips the other end of the line went dead. Oikawa sent a quick text to Asahi about tomorrow before he turned back to his computer. He would just finish this paragraph and then he would go get some food. He had been working for about 10 minutes when there was a voice at the door. 

"Oikawa back away from the computer." Fingers ceased to type and brown eyes rested on Makki leaning against the door frame. "Iwaizumi texted me and told me to drag you into the land of functioning adulthood. Now get your ass up, you're buying me a milkshake." Both Makki and Mattsun worked at the university with Oikawa. Makki was a joint professor in the math and computer engineering departments, his office was just one floor below Oikawa's. Mattsun worked across campus in the biology department. Oikawa had met Makki during his undergrad, Makki was a masters student and taught his calculus class, and had remained good friends with him over the years. Makki had been working at the university for a year already when Oikawa was brought on as a professor, and the 2 of them met Mattsun at a campus wide New Year's Party (Makki had gotten to know Mattsun _very_ well at the party). Now the couple begrudgingly considered Oikawa a good friend, which was why Makki was currently dragging Oikawa out of his office and to the cheap American diner one block over. 

When the waitress sat down a burger the size of a diner plate in front of him, Oikawa's hunger hit him full force and he dug in ravenous. Makki sipped happily at his Snickers milkshake, taking a picture of Oikawa and typing away at his phone.

"Why dib yof take a picdur?" Oikawa mumbled around a mouth full of a burger that was no doubt clogging all of his arteries. It was heavenly. 

"To prove to Iwaizumi that you're eating. He told me to text him when you'd gotten your food." Guilt washed over Oikawa again. He dropped the burger back down onto his plate, appetite gone. Makki stayed silent, knowing Oikawa well enough that he knew the brunette would eventually talk about what was bothering him. 

"He shouldn't have to worry about me while he's at work. He can't be distracted. I...I don't want to be a burden to him." Oikawa's voice softened. Iwaizumi was always checking up on him; have you eaten dinner, come to bed, where is your coat? He already had so much responsibility at the firehouse, Oikawa was just ruining the time he had off too. A sharp kick to the shin drew a yelp out of Oikawa. 

"Get out of your head Oikawa. Iwaizumi loves you, that's why he worries. You know the man, he doesn't hide how he is feeling. If he didn't want to be with you he'd say something, but I've seen the way he looks at you, its disgusting how much that idiot cares about you. So stop throwing yourself a pity party and just make sure you eat some damn food every once and awhile." His words were blunt and lacked finesse but they helped Oikawa release the breath that he didn't realize he was holding on to. The pair exchanged soft smiles.

"Always so eloquent Makki."

"Shut up and eat your food asshole. And you better eat dinner tonight or I'll come over and cook every meal you eat for the rest of the month." Makki's cooking most definitely broke some sort of human rights violation so Oikawa took the threat very seriously. They finished their meal in a comfortable silence and parted outside the restaurant. Later that evening Oikawa sent Iwaizumi a picture of him eating an omelet; he even made a cute little cat face out of ketchup. All he received back was a "Thank you" but it made a warmth spread through his chest. Iwaizumi did love him but Oikawa could do better and not worry the man so much. He ate alone on Iwaizumi's couch and counted down the hours until the firefighter would be home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thank you for reading. I'm having a bit of trouble with my computer right now (its doing this awesome thing were it decides it doesn't want to charge) so the next few chapters might be a bit more sporadic.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No matter how well prepared you are sometimes accidents happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehe...hello again. I am sorry for the hiatus but I will be going back to regularly updating this fic again! Please enjoy!

It was only 7:00am and Iwaizumi had already had a headache (or more accurately 11 headaches that never ceased to amaze him with their stupidity). He sat in the corner of the lounge cradling a cup of coffee that was a poor substitute for the glass of whiskey he needed right now. 

Kuroo and Bokuto were sitting at the table across the room with Noya and a disgruntled looking Ennoshita, all four of them were talking animatedly over a flyer that had been in their mail that morning. Daichi and Ushijima were cooking breakfast, and the idea of sausage and eggs helped soothe the captain's nerves. 

“What are you idiots scheming about now?” Three sets of bright eyes looked over at him, Ennoshita just gave him an apologetic grimence. 

“The theme for this year’s charity fundraiser is beach volleyball! The winning house gets a new couch and TV for their lounge. We have to get some teams together!”

“Yea, we would totally kick ass!” 

Every year headquarters put together a fundraiser event to raise money for the Fallen Fighters Fund, a charity dedicated to helping pay for medical and funeral expenses for firefighters injured on the job. All of the firehouses participated in some way to help with the event. Even though the charity was created for the hardest part of their job, the fundraiser was always a joyous event. They were celebrating life and the bond that every firefighter shared. 

_ Miraculously  _ each year the main event almost always required the men to be in some state of undress. Last year was a flag football tournament and the teams were divided into Shirts vs Skins. The charity event also attracted a lot of civilians who wanted to support their local first responders. Saeko, the woman in charge of the fundraiser, knew exactly what she was doing when she planned these events. 

“Come on Captain pleaseeeeeeee. I’ll let you be my vice captain.” Iwaizumi snorted and rolled his eyes at Kuroo. 

“If anyone is going to be captains of the teams it's going to be me and Daichi.” Both Kuroo and Bokuto let out whines. 

“But I’m the same rank and Daichi! Why does he get to be a captain and I don’t?”

“Because I have seniority and I was captain of our highschool’s volleyball team.” The other lieutenant walked in with Ushijima, both carrying large serving platters full of breakfast foods. 

“Fine but I get to be your vice captain Iwaizumi!” Kuroo yelled as he snatched a biscuit off of one of the trays and shoved it into his mouth with a pout. Bokuto whipped around and looked at Daichi with a hopeful expression. 

“Daichi can I be your vice captain?” Word must have spread that breakfast was ready because the entire firehouse started to file into the room and grab plates. 

“Sure Bo. I guess we should start picking teams now huh?” Iwaizumi took an inventory of everyone in the house and what positions he needed to fill. In highschool he had been a winged spiker and Kuroo had been a middle blocker. That meant they still needed another middle blocker, two more winged spikers, a setter, and a libero. 

All eyes snapped up to Kageyama when he walked into the lounge talking to Kiyoko. 

“Kageyama!” The young man jumped at the sound of both Iwaizumi and Daichi calling his name. Both men glared at each other. 

“He’s on my crew so he will be on my team.”

“I’m a higher rank than you. I get first pick.” Daichi laughed. Iwaizumi never pulled rank, they both knew he was bluffing.

“Why don’t we let our young kouhai pick which team he wants to be on?” Terushima wrapped an arm around Kageyama’s shoulders and gave him an impish smirk. The youngest member of the house looked queasy as he stared at his senpais. 

Iwaizumi would have taken pity on the younger man if it wasn’t a well known fact that Kageyama had been a volleyball prodigy in highschool, surprising the entire world when he chose not to continue professionally and became a firefighter instead. Saeko must have realized this and that's why she chose volleyball for this year’s fundraiser. This would be the last opportunity to see the King of the Court play on the court again. 

Kageyama didn’t get the opportunity to answer before Daichi spoke up. 

“If you join our team Bokuto will take all of your cleaning duties for the rest of the week.” Bokuto looked up as he was volunteered, a fork full of eggs falling back onto his plate. 

“Deal.” Kageyama answered before Bokuto had the chance to retort. Kuroo cackled and clapped his friend on the back, zero pity in his expression. 

“Bribery is cheating.” The captain muttered at Daichi’s triumphant expression. 

“I don’t see a rule book Cap.” 

Breakfast consisted of a lot of bickering over who would be on which team. Kiyoko immediately removed herself from the selection pool, volunteering to be manager of Iwaizumi’s team instead. Shiribu offered to take up the role of manager for Daichi’s team. 

When the dust settled at the end of breakfast Iwaizumi was pleased with his team. It consisted of himself, Ennoshita, and Ushijima as winged spikers, Terushima as setter, Kuroo and Yamaguchi as middle blockers, and Yaku as libero. 

Dacihi’s team had himself, Bokuto, and Kunimi as winged spikers, Kageyama as setter, Tsukishima and Yahaba as middle blockers, and Nishinoya as libero. The others in the house stated that they didn’t want to play or would serve as backup in the event that someone was unable to play. 

Kuroo and Terushima were already huddled in a corner together coming up with a team name and catchphrase ideas. Iwaizumi knew that he should put an end to whatever they were scheming but decided to let them have their fun for now. 

“So is Oikawa still coming over after lunch?” Daichi asked as he sat down next to the captain with his own cup of coffee. 

“That’s the plan right now but he knows we could get a call at any minute.” Daichi hummed in response. 

“Things are getting pretty serious between you guys.” A faint blush crawled across Iwaizumi’s cheeks. He was a private man and liked to keep his work life and personal life separate, but the firehouse was his family and had seen how fond their captain had grown of the scientist. 

“Yea...I’m planning on asking him to move in with me after he presents this research.” After a month of living with Mattsun and Makki, Oikawa had found a new apartment, but as their relationship grew Oikawa ended up spending most nights at Iwaizumi’s apartment now, staying there even when he was on shift. The captain had been thinking about asking his boyfriend to move in with him for awhile, but with all the stress Oikawa was under right now he didn’t want to do anything that would distract him from work. After the research presentation in two weeks Iwaizumi was going to take Oikawa out to a nice dinner and ask him then. 

“Congrats Cap! It’s nice to see you finally settling down with someone.” Iwaizumi felt his cheeks heat up at his friend’s sincerity. 

“Thanks Daichi. Hows Suga?” The lieutenant’s expression quickly changed into a love sick smile at the mention of his boyfriend. Iwaizumi couldn’t help but roll his eyes, Daichi was so whipped.

“He’s great. We’re great...actually I haven’t told anyone yet but...I’m going to propose.” Iwaizumi raised his eyebrows in surprise, but honestly it wasn’t much of a shock. Daichi and Suga were perfect for each other and hopelessly in love. It was obvious to everyone that this was the inevitable next step. 

“Wow Daichi that's amazing. Congratulations.” The other man flashed him a lopsided but nervous smile. 

“Thanks Cap. I know he’s going to say yes but I’m still nervous about it. I just want it to be perfect… He deserves it after everything we’ve been through.” Iwaizumi knew what the lieutenant was referring to. Last year they got a call about a huge car pile up on the interstate. When they got to the scene they had to rush to help trapped civilians out of burning cars. Daichi was attempting to free a woman whose legs were pinned under her steering wheel when the entire car blew up. He spent months in the hospital recovering after shrapnel punctured one of his lungs and shattered 9 of his ribs. 

Suga never left his side during the entire recovery and never argued when Daichi said that he wanted to go back to working as a firefighter. Iwaizumi had seen countless relationships break under the pressure of their job but Daichi and Suga’s bond had grown stronger through the hardship. Iwaizumi couldn’t help but wonder if his and Oikawa’s relationship would also stand the tests of time. 

~~~

“I don’t know if I can do this Oikawa-sensei.” Asahi clutched his laptop bag to his chest as he nervously looked through the windshield and up at the large firehouse across the street. 

“Azu-chan this is just a practice run. I promise you they will have no idea what you’re talking about and won’t know if you mess up. You’re doing this so you won’t mess up in front of the people who matter.” Oikawa knew that this was difficult for his student but it was his job as a teacher to push Asahi out of his comfort zone when needed. Making Asahi present his research would zero practice beforehand would be like throwing a trembling defenceless baby cow into the middle of a pack of bloodthirsty wolves. 

Asahi closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was clear his anxiety was threatening to consume him but he still stepped out of the car and followed Oikawa into the firehouse. 

Iwaizumi was waiting in the truck bay for them when they walked up the driveway. Even though it had only been 24 hours since they last saw each other, Oikawa couldn’t help the swell of excitement that swept through him when he saw the other man. He knew he would never grow tired of the warm security of Iwaizumi’s arms wrapped around him. 

“Come on you guys can set up in the conference room.” Iwaizumi led them into the building. A majority of Squad 1 was in the lounge area watching TV or eating lunch. Oikawa recognized Nishinoya and Kageyama sitting at one of the tables arguing over something. He only managed to catch a snippet of their conversation but it sounded like they were arguing over a name for something. As they walked deeper into the building they passed an older man with blonde hair dressed in a crisp white uniform. 

“Good afternoon Chief Ukai. This is Oikawa’s student Azumane. He’s the one I told you about yesterday who will be practicing his presentation today.” Oikawa had met the fire Chief a few times in passing. He was a blunt and often crass man but he had somehow managed to tame all of the dynamic personalities in the firehouse and make them a cohesive unit. They all looked up to him as a mentor and a leader, willing to follow him into any situation with no hesitation. 

“Well I can’t promise that these idiots won’t cause you any trouble but if they do just come get me. I’ve got about 12 boxes of old cases from the late 80’s that need to be reorganized and filed. I’ve been waiting for one of them to fuck up so it can get done.” Asahi blanched at the Chief’s words. 

“Thank you for allowing us to come in today Chief Ukai. You are really doing us a huge favor.” The older man waved dismissively at Oikawa.

“You’re fine. Iwaizumi gave me his best puppy dog eyes when he asked. You’ve got this guy wrapped around your little finger.” A delighted smile spread across Oikawa’s face and he turned to look at his boyfriend. Iwaizumi’s lips were turned down into a deep scowl and if looks could kill then Ukai would have dropped dead. 

“Aw Iwa-chan likes to pretend he is a big bad brute but he is such a softie.” The brunette reached out to pinch one of Iwaizumi’s cheeks but the shorter man batted his hand away with a sharp smack.

“Dumbass. I did not give you puppy dog eyes. Hurry up and set up your presentation Shittykawa.” The captain tried to recover part of his dignity but he couldn’t hide the crimson blush that covered his cheeks. 

Only 7 of the crew members filed into the conference room to listen to Asahi’s presentation. The others were scattered around the fire house catching up on sleep, cleaning/repairing equipment, or just didn’t care enough to attend. Asahi didn’t care how many were in attendance, if there were 2 people or 200 he would still be just as nervous. 

Nishinoya, Ushijima, Semi, Yahaba, Shimizu, Yaku, and Iwaizumi all settled into the chairs in front of the screen where Asahi’s PowerPoint was presented. Oikawa could see the anxiety radiating off his student. The firefighters looked up at him quietly, waiting for him to begin his presentation, but Asahi just stared out at them with a blank expression. Oikawa was going to pull him aside but Nishinoya spoke first.

“Hey don’t be nervous okay? You have to be really smart to understand all of this stuff and you’ve obviously put a lot of work into it so you know what you’re talking about! We have no idea what any of this stuff means so even if you do mess up we won’t be able to tell. Just do your best!” The smaller man flashed Asahi a bright smile and gave him 2 thumbs up. 

Asahi looked at him with a bewildered expression for a few moments, digesting the words of encouragement, before he took a deep breath and the tension eased out of his shoulders. The firefighter’s words seemed to work but Asahi squared his shoulders with a new found confidence and began his presentation. 

Oikawa sat off to the side in Asahi’s blindspot. He had a notepad in front of him and was jotting down suggestions and comments as his student went through his presentation. Asahi stumbled over some of his words and definitions, but overall was doing well. Oikawa never doubted Asahi’s expertise or knowledge on the subject, but getting his student to believe in himself was the difficult part. 

During the presentation Oikawa couldn’t stop his gaze from wandering over to where Iwaizumi was seated. The captain had a thoughtful expression on his face but Oikawa knew from experience that he wasn’t paying any attention to the tables and figures on the screen. Iwaizumi was well practiced in the art of listening but not paying attention after sitting through several of Oikawa’s long tangents about space. 

His arms were folded across his chest and Oikawa wanted nothing more than to walk over and snuggle into them. On nights that Iwaizumi was working Oikawa would sleep clutching one of the firefighter’s t-shirts in a poor attempt to trick himself into believing his partner was there with him. The brunette thought that he would eventually get used to the nights alone, but if anything they grew more cold as time went on. 

Iwaizumi’s gaze shifted from looking at the screen and landed on Oikawa. A small blush crept across his cheeks when he was caught staring but it didn’t seem like Iwaizumi cared. The firefighter gave him a soft smile, not a smirk or a scowl, a genuine smile that was reserved for Oikawa and only Oikawa. They shared a tender gaze in the darkened room and without uttering a single word they were able to convey a million messages. The most prominent being ‘I love you’.

~~~

At the tail end of Asahi’s presentation the loudspeakers in the firehouse crackled to life and gathered the attention of all the inhabitants. 

_ "Engine 41, Truck 12, Squad 1, Ambo 113. Warehouse fire. 0105 Nekoma Drive." _

Their small audience bounced out of their seats and began to rush out of the conference room towards the truck bay. Oikawa’s eyes widened in horror as they hurried past him. Iwaizumi was the last to leave the room, stopping briefly in front of Oikawa. He could see the fear in his partner’s eyes.

“I’ll call you when I get back okay.” The captain cupped both of Oikawa’s cheeks and pressed a firm but brief kiss to his lips before darting out of the door and jogging down the hall. 

Oikawa knew that Iwaizumi was a firefighter and he knew that that meant he  _ fought fires _ , but he didn’t think he would ever be okay with the idea of his boyfriend diving into danger. He tried to calm himself by being rational. Iwaizumi had been in dozens of fires and left them all unscathed. He had a good crew supporting him. He was smart, agile, and quick on his feet. But a tiny part of his brain told him that no matter how prepared someone is accidents still happen, and all it takes is one misstep for Iwaizumi to never come back home. 

The brunette jumped slightly when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to meet the worried gaze of Asahi.

“Are you okay Oikawa-sensei?” Oikawa quickly nodded his head and stood. He knew this was what he was signing up for when he began dating Iwaizumi, there was no need to be dramatic. 

“Yes yes Azu-chan I’m fine. Let's gather your things and head back to my office. You did very well today but I have a few suggestions.” As they walked out of the conference room Oikawa couldn’t help but feel like they had somehow been transported to a different building. The lights were still on in all of the rooms but they were all silent now. Without the firefighters there the building seemed like an empty shell. Oikawa clutched his phone tightly and went to his settings to turn his ringer to max volume.

~~~

Iwaizumi had always hated hospitals, but he especially hated this one. The stiff blue chairs in the waiting room were all too familiar and he always associated them with the dark nervous feeling of dread eating away at his stomach. Today there was no dread but he still shifted uncomfortably against the navy pleather. 

Warehouse fires were always the worst to deal with. Rarely were the buildings up to fire code and the never ending maze of hallways and doors could swiftly turn into a death sentence for a firefighter who had lost their way. His crew had done everything right, followed every order and protocol exactly like they were supposed to, but they couldn’t account for everything. 

The building was dilapidated and abandoned. The fire had accidently been started by some homeless who were squatting there. The rotting wood lit up in a blaze and grew out of control long before they had arrived on scene. A few bystanders told them that they believed there were still people trapped inside, a few unfortunate souls who had been asleep in the backrooms, realizing too late that they were in danger. 

Iwaizumi had to make a difficult decision then. The building was already blaze and threatening to collapse as the fire ate away at its support. Going inside was a gamble, but it was their job to protect the people of their city. In the end he sent in a small team consisting of himself, Yaku, Komi, and Yamaguchi. They were the fastest on Squad 1 and would be able to search the building quickly and efficiently. He left Kuroo and Daichi to handle the rest of the crew and the process of putting out the flames. 

The inside of the building was a hellscape. Even through his suit Iwaizumi could feel the scorching heat of the flames as they leapt out at him and his crew. Thick smoke curled around them, trying to trick them into losing their way and dragging them deeper into the burning building. Kuroo’s crackling voice over the radio updated him on what was happening outside. Iwaizumi knew they were racing against the clock. 

In the end they found only empty rooms devoid of any human life. Once the last room had been cleared Iwaizumi instructed his men to evacuate as quickly as possible. The building creaked and groaned around them as if it were telling them that it couldn’t hold on much longer. They retraced their steps through the twisting halls back towards the safety of outside. 

They heard it before they saw it. There was a loud snap from above them and all they could do was look up as a flaming chunk of the roof hurled towards them, giving them only a few precious seconds to react. As it fell to the floor flames kicked up around them, trying their best to eat through the protective layers of clothing surrounding them. Iwaizumi could hear Kuroo shouting through the radio demanding an update but the captain could only focus on the scene in front of him. 

Komi lay unconscious on the floor, both of his legs pinned under the sizzling chunk of metal and wood. Yamaguchi and Yaku both managed to dive away from the debris and avoided getting trapped under its weight. 

“Yamaguchi help me lift it off of him. Yaku the second you can pull him out. We need to move now!” Iwaizumi barked out the order over the roar of the fire around them. He knew they were working on borrowed time now, any second the building could collapse around them. 

Yamaguchi rushed to the other side of Komi and placed his hands under the edge of the metal bar trapping his legs. Yaku stood behind the fallen firefighter and secured his arms around Komi’s limp body. Iwaizumi moved to the opposite side of Yamaguchi and grasped the edge of the gnarled metal. 

“One. Two. Three!” The metal bar groaned as they heaved it up off the ground. Iwaizumi’s muscles strained under the weight but adrenaline pumped through his veins and slowly they managed to give Yaku a few precious centimeters to pull Komi out from under the bar. 

Once Komi was free they let the metal drop back to the ground and the three of them quickly positioned themself around their coworker so they could carry him out of the fire. Even though Komi was dressed in his bulky uniform Iwaizumi could see that one of his legs was twisted at a sickening angle. 

“Firefighter down. Ambo 113 get ready. We are bringing Komi out to you now.” Iwaizumi cradled the unconscious man’s legs while Yaku and Yamaguchi held his upper half. They rushed through the building, the new burden of their friend’s life in their arms propelled them forward. 

When they finally burst through the front doors and back out into the safety of outside there were several worried faces waiting for them. Semi and Tsukishima wasted no time darting forward so they could place Komi’s limp body onto the gurney. Daichi was also at their side, looking down at his crew member with a horror filled expression. 

“He is still breathing and his heartbeat is strong. It looks like all of the trauma is focused on his lower body.” Semi worked at ripping off Komi’s heavy clothing so that he could get a better look at his injuries while Tsukishima pushed them towards the waiting ambulance. 

“A part of the roof fell in and a metal support beam pinned his legs. I’m going to ride with him to the hospital. Kuroo and Daichi can handle the rest of this. Meet us at the hospital when you guys are done.” Iwaizumi helped Tsukishima pull the gurney into the back of the ambulance while Semi took his seat behind the steering wheel. The medic wasted no time flipping on the sirens and lights and driving away from the fire. Iwaizumi looked through the tiny back window just in time to see the building crumble in on itself and fall to the ground in a smoldering heap. 

The doctors had told him that Komi was going to be fine. Both of his legs were badly broken and required surgery, but after months of recovery and physical therapy he would be walking again. Iwaizumi felt some relief at that. Most likely Komi would be off of Squad 1 for a year but he was alive and they would support him every step of his recovery process. 

It took another two hours for Squad 1 to put out and clean up the warehouse fire but after they did they all poured into the emergency waiting room, eagerly looking at Iwaizumi for an update. 

“He will be okay. He is in surgery right now to repair both of his legs and he will be in recovery for at least the next 12 months, but he will be able to walk again.” The group let out a collective sigh of relief.

“I already called the Chief and he has pulled us all out of rotation for now. Get back to the station and clean yourselves up and then go home. Squad 2 should be there in an hour to relieve you all. I’m going to stay here until he is out of surgery and I will message you all with any updates.” The promise of a hot shower and washing off the thick residue of smoke that coated them all made the rest of Squad 1 quickly say their goodbyes and once again Iwaizumi was left alone in the waiting room. 

~~~

It had been about three hours since Komi had entered surgery. Now that he had calmed down, fatigue washed over Iwaizumi. He had shed his bulky coat but his fire pants still hung low on his hips and his neck and arms were smudged with ash. 

“You look like shit.” Green eyes looked up to see Kuroo and Daichi standing in front of him, both freshly showered and clean.

“Gee thanks. It's not like I rushed through a burning building or anything.” Kuroo dropped a small black duffle bag at Iwaizumi’s feet.

“I got our stuff out of your locker. That nurse in the pink scrubs totally has the hots for you and I bet if you ask nicely she will let you use the shower in an empty room.” Iwaizumi picked up the bag and saw that it was his overnight bag that he had left securely locked up back at the firehouse.

“How the hell did you get into my locker?” There was no real bite behind his words. The idea of finally taking a shower and changing clothes already had Iwaizumi out of his seat and walking towards the nurses station. 

“Ah come on Cap. You know a magician never reveals his secrets.” Iwaizumi just rolled his eyes and added getting a new lock to his list of things to do.

“Is he still in surgery?” Daichi asked nervously. Komi was on truck with him and the lieutenant had a close relationship with everyone on his crew. 

“Yea. The doctor said she would come out and tell us as soon as it is done.” The update did nothing to ease the worried expression on Daichi’s face. Iwaizumi had been in his position many times before, once with Daichi himself laying in the hospital bed, and he knew that the only thing that would ease the lieutenant’s anxiety was seeing his friend alive and well. 

After giving the nurse in the pink scrubs a gentle smile and sleepily asking if he could use a shower Iwaizumi was escorted to the maternity ward where he was allowed into an empty room. He made quick work of getting himself clean, only allowing himself to indulge under the hot spray for a few moments. 

The maternity ward was set up and decorated much differently than the rest of the hospital. The rooms were bigger and instead of being painted stark white the walls were covered in soft and soothing pastels. The firefighter walked down the quiet hallway towards the elevator. Most of the doors were closed but through the few that were open Iwaizumi could see the exhausted couples cooing in hushed tones at the small bundle in their arms. 

Iwaizumi felt something warm spread throughout his chest at the sight. He had never really pictured himself being a father but now the images of him giving piggyback rides to a giggling little girl or chasing the bright laughter of a little boy filled his mind, and something inside him yearned for it. His mind wandered to the idea of Oikawa swaying back and forth as he hummed a soft tune to the tiny body snuggled against his chest. 

_ Shit. _ He was supposed to call Oikawa hours ago. Iwaizumi quickly made his way to the elevator and pulled his phone out of the black duffle bag. Surprisingly, there weren’t a million missed calls and messages like he expected, but there was one single text from Oikawa that was an hour old.

‘ _ Please be safe.’ _

Iwaizumi felt a pang of guilt in his chest as he pressed the call button on his phone. It didn’t get the opportunity to get through a full ring before the other end of the receiver clicked to life.

“Hajime?!” The brunette’s tone was a mixture of fear and relief. 

“Hey I’m sorry I didn’t call you earlier. I’m at the hospital right now.”

“HOSPITAL?!” Iwaizumi grimaced at his boyfriend’s frantic yell. He definitely could have delivered that message better. 

“Hey hey calm down. I’m fine. Komi got pinned under some debris at the fire and broke both of his legs. He is in surgery now and will be okay but I came right from the scene so my phone was still at the firehouse. Kuroo and Daichi just dropped my things off.” Iwaizumi could hear the long sigh that left Oikawa’s lips. 

“You’re okay?” Oikawa’s voice was quiet, tender, still full of fear. Iwaizumi ached to hold him.

“Yes I’m fine. He should be out of surgery soon and once he is do you think you could come get me from the hospital? Chief Ukai ended our shift early so I’m coming home tonight.” The sun was just beginning to creep towards the horizon. Hopefully he would be home in time for dinner.

“Only if Iwa-chan buys me ramen on the way home.” Iwaizumi rolled his eyes but a small smile pulled at his lips. He still felt guilty about leaving Oikawa to worry for so long but he could more than make up for it with ramen and a killer blowjob later tonight. 

“Fine but I get to pick what we watch on TV. And it is not going to be the X-Files for the millionth time.” Oikawa let out a bright laugh on the other end of the receiver. It was a beautiful sound. 

Iwaizumi never wanted to stop hearing it. He never wanted to stop seeing Oikawa lounging on the couch in his ugly alien pajama bottoms. He never wanted a life where he didn’t come home to Oikawa hunched over his computer or making some mess in the kitchen. The image of Oikawa holding a child with big brown eyes and soft chestnut hair filled his mind. Iwaizumi had never really thought about his future outside of the fire station before but, he suddenly realized that the only future he could picture now was one with Oikawa by his side. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for taking the time to read <3


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oikawa finally presents his research and then his world comes crumbling down around him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof...sorry 
> 
> There is smut at the beginning of this chapter. If thats not your thing then please control f to the first ~~~

The moon illuminated the room in thin pale streaks as it broke through the blinds. The only sounds in the room were the quiet hum of the rare car driving down the street and Iwaizumi’s soft snores. Oikawa knew that he should be asleep. The blinking red numbers on the alarm clock told him that it was 3:38am, but he couldn’t quiet down his brain long enough to find any respite from his anxiety. In 11 hours he would be standing in front of his mentors and presenting research he had been working over a year on, research they had paid for. 

This was his passion. He fell in love with the stars as a child and spent his entire adult life staring up at them in wonder. This project had been a dream come true for him and his brain wouldn’t stop reminding him of all the innumerable ways he could fuck it up. 

With a huff he sat up in bed. His gaze landed on his partner sleeping soundly in bed next to him. No matter how scared or anxious Oikawa felt, Iwaizumi was always his safe space. The firefighter could navigate any stressful situation with ease, keeping a level head when Oikawa was drowning in panic. The brunette felt a surge of affection as Iwaizumi’s hand reached out in his sleep to settle on top of his own. 

As quietly as possible Oikawa slipped out of bed and walked into the living room. Iwaizumi had hidden his work laptop before they went to bed, but little did he know that Oikawa had printed out his Powerpoint slides and had them in his laptop bag. He retrieved the thick stack of papers and laid them out on the kitchen table. He knew sleep would be impossible at this point so he might as well use his time effectively and look over his slides one more time. 

He had gotten through half of the papers when the hallway light flipped on. His heart dropped into his stomach,  _ busted _ . A very sleepy and disgruntled looking Iwaizumi padded into the kitchen. Oikawa would never tell him this but his favorite version of Iwaizumi was when the firefighter first woke up in the morning. His eyes were puffy and squinty, his hair disheveled, but his voice was soft and his words slurred. Plus a sleepy Iwaizumi was always a cuddler, something Oikawa would always take advantage of, but the look on his face now looked more murdery and not so cuddly. 

“Did someone die?” 

“No…”

“Is there a giant meteor coming to crash into Earth?”

“Actually the chances of that happening are higher than you-”

“Not what I asked.”

“No there is no meteor….”

“Then will you please enlighten me on why the fuck you are not in bed right now.” Iwaizumi didn’t sound angry, just frustrated. He had grown used to Oikawa’s antics during their time together. 

“I couldn’t sleep so I decided to come look at my slides.”

“But I took your lapt-” Iwaizumi looked down at the printed slides on the table. The firefighter closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. 

"I’m going to give you 10 seconds to put those away and get your ass back to bed.” 

“But Iwa-”

“That was not a request that was an **_order_** Tooru.” The brunette felt a tingle go down his spine. Iwaizumi liked to leave his captain mentality at the firehouse but the occasions where he slipped into it at the house were always…. _ fun _ . 

Iwaizumi leaned against the door frame and watched Oikawa with a shrewd expression as the brunette gathered his papers and slid them back into his laptop bag. The firefighter gestured for Oikawa to lead the way back to their bedroom. Tooru’s mouth felt dry as he walked down the short hallway. It felt like he was a defenseless deer in the woods being watched by a wolf. 

“Sit on the bed.” All traces of sleepiness were gone from Iwaizumi’s voice. Oikawa went and perched on the edge of the bed while his partner closed their bedroom door. 

“I’m sorry Iwa-”

“I didn’t ask for you to speak.” Oikawa felt electricity racing through his veins. Iwaizumi’s voice had become a deep timbre, one that Oikawa’s body had learned to react to on instinct. A rough hand grasped Oikawa’s jaw and forced him to look up at Iwaizumi. 

“It is almost 5:00am. You will make a complete fool of yourself if you don’t get some rest.” Oikawa squirmed under Iwaizumi’s intense gaze. He attempted to press his legs together to hide his body’s reaction to Iwaizumi’s manhandling but those forest green eyes never missed a single detail. 

“If you’re not going to go to sleep on your own I’m just going to have to make you.” The deep growl was a promise for what was about to come and Oikawa couldn’t help but let out a whine. Around the rest of the world he constantly had to be in top form, but around Iwaizumi he could allow himself to fall knowing the firefighter would always be there to catch him. 

“Strip.” Iwaizumi commanded as he released Oikawa’s jaw and made his way to the closet. Lust blown eyes followed him as he walked across the room. Oikawa knew exactly what they kept in the closet and he felt the last bit of his dignity fall away as he quickly ripped off his pajamas. 

Iwaizumi came back into the room carrying a bottle of lube and a slender pink remote controlled vibrator. Oikawa already knew what was expected of him and positioned himself on all fours with his ass facing the open room. Goosebumps broke out across his skin as he felt the rough calluses of Iwaizumi’s hands on the back of his thighs. Expertly he began digging into the tense muscles, kneading into the flesh until they started to tremble. 

“My poor baby is so stressed.” Iwaizumi’s breath was hot on the back of Oikawa’s neck. He kissed his way gently down Oikawa’s spine. The brunette felt his stress bleed out of his body under Iwaizumi’s careful ministrations. 

Oikawa gasped when he felt a slicked finger press against him, gently rubbing against him.

“Shhh relax my love. I’ll take care of you but you’ve got to relax for me.” Iwaizumi’s other hand moved up to scratch at Oikawa’s scalp and the brunette let out a long groan. Iwaizumi’s finger slid into him easily and he quickly found a steady rhythm. The hand in his hair grasped the strands and tugged Oikawa’s head back. 

“Good boy.” Oikawa let out another needy whine as Iwaizumi slid in a second finger. The firefighter knew how to play his body like a fiddle, setting up the perfect pace to keep Oikawa painfully hard but not satisfied. He needed more but knew better than to ask for more than what he was given. Iwaizumi promised to take care of him and Oikawa had learned to trust that Iwaizumi knew best. 

After being stretched for a few more minutes Iwaizumi pulled his fingers out of Oikawa. 

“No no n-” Oikawa desperately clenched around nothing, Iwaizumi couldn’t leave him like this. 

“I’ve got you baby.” Iwaizumi cooed. He spread his hand on Oikawa’s lower back, pushing him down gently until his torso was on the bed and his ass was high in the air. He felt the slicked up tip of the vibrator slowly push into him and panted against the sheets as he was filled. It was the same width as two of Iwaizumi’s fingers but reached deeper inside of him. Once it was nestled completely inside of him both of Iwaizumi’s hands were back to exploring Oikawa’s heated skin. 

Oikawa’s entire body was on edge. He was waiting to hear the tell tale click of the remote and the sensation of vibrations inside of him, but Iwaizumi’s hands never stopped their mission of mapping over every inch of Oikawa’s skin. 

“Please Iwa please.” Iwaizumi draped himself over Oikawa’s body, the rough cotton of his t-shirt reminded the brunette that his partner was still completely clothed while he was naked and plugged, spread open for the world to see. His cock bobbed against his stomach at the imagery in his head. Finally, one of Iwaizumi’s hands moved to the bed and Oikawa had a split second to brace himself before his entire body started to buzz. A strangled sob ripped out of his throat at the low setting, just barely enough to keep him on the edge. 

Iwaizumi began to move around the bed, making sure to always have one part of his body brushing up against Oikawa so the brunette could always feel his presence. He settled himself against the headboard and tugged at Oikawa’s silky chestnut locks. Oikawa felt pathetic as he crawled in between his lover’s legs, the hand in his hair pulling his head to exactly where Iwaizumi wanted him. 

Oikawa wasted no time pulling down Iwaizumi’s basketball shorts and briefs, freeing his painfully hard erection. Not one for playing coy, Oikawa took half of the length into his mouth with one quick bob causing a string of expletives to pour from Iwaizumi’s mouth. 

“Good boy.” Iwaizumi clicked the remote in his hands two more times while he simultaneously pushed Oikawa’s head down until his nose brushed against the curly black hairs at the base of Iwaizumi’s cock. The brunette let out a muffled moan at the sensation of being filled at both ends. It didn’t take Oikawa long to be pushed over the edge and he barely gave Iwaizumi enough warning to pull him up off his cock so that he could breath as he came untouched. 

Dark forest green eyes watched Oikawa as he came, his cock twitching the only sign that he was enjoying the show. He had a little mercy on the brunette and turned the vibrator back down to its lowest setting. The second Oikawa had caught his breath Iwaizumi grabbed his head and forced his cock back down Oikawa’s throat. 

Oikawa sloppily bobbed his head up and down Iwaizumi’s cock, spit pouring out of his mouth and onto his hand as he simultaneously jerked off what he didn’t get into his mouth. He knew it wasn’t about the technique, Iwaizumi liked to see him thoroughly debauched, drooling like a whore all over his cock. 

He heard three quick clicks and the vibrator inside of him roared back to life. The brunette stalled as pleasure crashed through him. Even though he came a few minutes ago he could already feel himself teetering on the edge again as the toy buzzed against his prostate. 

A jerk of Iwaizumi’s hips brought Oikawa’s attention back to the cock in his mouth. He let his jaw hang open and forced his throat to relax as Iwaizumi began to fuck into his mouth. 

“God y-you look so pretty with my cock in your mouth.” Iwaizumi’s hand left his hair and reached down to cup his jaw, his thumb running across Oikawa’s damp cheek bones. His pace was quick but he made sure not to drill into the back of Oikawa’s throat, not wanting to do anything that might compromise his voice for his presentation tomorrow. 

Oikawa felt a white hot heat coil deep in his gut and when Iwaizumi clicked the remote two more times pushing the vibrator to its highest setting. It wasn't long until he felt himself tumble over the edge for the second time. Two quick taps to Iwaizumi’s thigh stopped the firefighter’s thrusts and Oikawa pulled back gasping for air as his orgasm ripped through him. 

Iwaizumi pet his hair softly as he came down from his high, turning the vibrator off completely. Oikawa’s entire body trembled. The firefighter gently tugged Oikawa forward and onto his chest. As gently as he could he pulled the toy out of Oikawa’s exhausted body, kissing him softly as he whined at the sudden emptiness. 

“You’re doing so well baby. Can you handle one more?” Oikawa shivered as he felt the blunt head of Iwaizumi’s cock line up against his stretched hole. The brunette gave a weak nod and buried his head into Iwaizumi’s shoulder.

“What’s your word Tooru?” The use of his given name let Oikawa know that the game had been paused and Iwaizumi expected a quick and honest answer. 

“Pluto.” Iwaizumi hummed happily at the response and pressed a firm kiss to Oikawa’s temple. One strong arm wrapped itself around Oikawa’s torso and held him close as Iwaizumi slowly pushed into him. The brunette inhaled deeply, losing himself in the overwhelming warm sensation of Iwaizumi surrounding him. 

Once Iwaizumi had bottomed out he wrapped both arms around his lover and just held him as he adjusted. Oikawa felt tears in his eyes as Iwaizumi’s fingers lightly traced up his spine and his lips peppered Oikawa’s shoulder and neck in soft kisses. No matter how many times Oikawa felt like he was going to break Iwaizumi was always there to hold him together. 

“Ok. You can move.” Oikawa whispered into Iwaizumi’s shoulder. Slowly, Iwaizumi started to rock into Oikawa with shallow thrusts. One broad hand moved from his back to cup Oikawa’s face, pulling it so Iwaizumi could capture his lips. The torturous heat from before was gone, replaced by a warm smolder that spread from the tips of Oikawa’s toes to the top of his head. This was all about them being together, wrapped up in each other’s embrace. 

When they finally broke apart for air, mocha brown eyes met emerald green and Oikawa couldn’t stop the tears that ran down his cheeks. The weeks leading up to this presentation had been downright miserable. He had run himself ragged trying to prepare and it felt so good to lose himself in Iwaizumi. 

Oikawa sat up a little straighter and planted his knees firmly on the bed, straddling Iwaizumi, so he could begin to rock up and down. The firefighter’s hands moved to his hips and guided his motions. 

“I love you.” Iwaizumi whispered the words against Oikawa’s collar bone and he pressed a series of soft kisses along the ridge. 

“I love you so much Hajime.” Oikawa gripped his lover’s shoulder tighter as he lost himself in the moment. Everything felt so right. One of Iwaizumi’s hands reached up wrapped around Oikawa’s neglected cock, it was the first time it had been touched all night and the friction made Oikawa cry out. It wasn’t long until the steady pumping of Iwaizumi’s hand and his cock pushed the brunette over the edge for a third and final time that night. 

“Come on baby. One more time.” Iwaizumi nipped gently at his pulse point and that was all it took. Oikawa clenched down around Iwaizumi, his cock pumping out a few watery spurts of come against the firefighter’s hand. 

“Shit.” Iwaizumi put both of his hands back on Oikawa’s hips and pulled the brunette off his cock. Too exhausted to do anything but breath, Oikawa watched with drooping eyes as the firefighter pumped himself a few times and then covered his bare thighs with his release. 

They were both filthy, the bed was a mess, and the clock read 5:35am. Oikawa was a rag doll as Iwaizumi gently lifted him off his lap and onto one of the clean sections of the bed. The second his head hit the pillow the brunette was asleep. Iwaizumi quietly cleaned them both off with a wet washcloth, pulled off the dirty blankets, and slipped a sleeping Oikawa into one of his sweatshirts. 

The firefighter looked down at the peaceful sleeping face of his lover with a tender smile. He crawled under the sheet and pulled Oikawa close against his chest.

“Good night you idiot.”

~~~

After five hours of comatose sleep Oikawa felt more rested than he had in weeks. Now the brunette stood in front of the bathroom mirror trying to decide whether an emerald green tie or a magenta tie looked best with his navy blazer. 

“Iwa-chan what tie should I wear?” The firefighter was in their room packing his overnight duffel. He went in for a 24 hour shift at 12:00pm. Oikawa was a little disappointed that Iwaizumi wouldn’t be able to make it to the celebration dinner they were hosting tonight, but the firefighter had promised to make it up to him this weekend. The dark purple love bite hidden under his collar made an excited chill run through his body at the thought. 

A spikey head of hair poked into the bathroom and looked at Oikawa through the mirror. 

“I don’t know. They both look fine.” Oikawa let out a huff of frustration but when he locked eyes with Iwaizumi in the mirror and saw the vibrant emerald shade of his eyes, the decision was an easy one. With nimble fingers Oikawa easily lopped the dark green tie around his neck and pulled it into the perfect Windsor knot. 

When he walked back into the bedroom he saw Iwaizumi putting the last of his things into his duffel. If he was going to make it to the fire station on time he was going to need to leave in the next 15 minutes. 

“Hey.” Iwaizumi’s soft tone pulled Oikawa’s attention away from his mounting anxiety. The shorter man stood up off the bed and crossed the room in a few easy strides. Once in front of Oikawa he cupped his partner's face pulled him into a tender kiss. 

“You’re going to do amazing today. And after its all over you’re going to call me and tell me all about it and then when I get home tomorrow we’re going to have awesome celebration sex annnddd” Iwaizumi stepped away from Oikawa and went to his bedside table. He pulled out two pieces of paper. “We’re going to go to Kyoto and spend the weekend at an onsen doing nothing but relaxing and drinking sake.” 

Oikawa looked down at the train tickets with wide eyes. 

“Iwa this is too much…” 

“You’ve been working your ass off for weeks to get ready for this. You need to take a weekend to relax.” Iwaizumi intertwined their fingers and pressed a soft kiss to each of Oikawa’s knuckles. He hated being sappy but to make Oikawa smile it was worth it. 

“Thank you…” There was so much more he wanted to say but the words kept getting caught in his throat. Oikawa didn’t know what he had done to deserve this man but he was suddenly very thankful to his neighbor for throwing a blanket on his space heater. Ever since they had met Iwaizumi had never ceased to be there right when Oikawa needed him most. 

“I have to go to work now but promise me you’ll call me later okay?” Oikawa responded with a soft nod. Iwaizumi pressed one last brief kiss to his lips. 

“I love you Tooru. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

~~~

The rest of the day passed in a blur for Oikawa. Once he got to the university he had to push all of his own fears and anxieties away so that he could be the fearless leader for his research team. 

“Do you have everything you need Azu-chan?” Asahi had been completely silent all day, responding with curt nods of his head or hand gestures to every question he had been asked. He did so again by giving Oiakwa a quick nod yes. 

“Asahi listen to me." Oikawa's suddenly serious tone cleared the fog from Asahi's eyes and the man focused all his attention on his teacher.

"You are one of the smartest men I have ever had the pleasure of doing research with. You know this material better than anyone else, even me, and you are going to crush this presentation. After that all you have to do is walk across the stage later this spring and frame your fancy piece of paper that tells everyone you’re Dr. Asahi. I wouldn’t let you do this if I didn’t think you were qualified. You trust me right?” The tension in Asahi’s shoulders bled away and the large man gave a long sigh. 

“Yes, Oikawa-sensei I trust you. Thank you for all of your support. I hope that one day I can be as good of a professor as you.” Oikawa felt his chest swell with pride. He had first gotten into astrophysics because he loved the stars but he had become a professor because he loved to share his passion with others. He had the opportunity to shape his own stars, helping them grow from tiny flickers to brilliant beams of light. 

The entire drive to the space station was silent, neither man ignorant enough to believe that any conversation would ease the anxiety they both felt. Growing up Oikawa had had a large poster of the space station hanging up in his room. He always used to fall asleep looking at it with a starry expression, telling himself that nothing would stop him from working there one day. Now as he pulled up to the building he did not feel that excitement, just bone chilling anxiety coursing through his veins. 

The receptionist was a tiny blonde woman who nervously chatted with them the entire walk to the conference room. 

“You may set up in here. If you need any assistance or run into any problems I will be at my desk.” Oikawa triple checked that everything was working properly. He had brought multiple backups of the presentation and flipped through the slides multiple times to make sure that it was in the correct order. 15 minutes before the presentation was supposed to begin there was a knock at the door. 

“Ah Dr. Oikawa I’m glad to see you were able to get everything set up.” Six men and three women walked into the conference room. This was the team that had funded his research, the head scientists that worked at the space station. They were all giants in their respective fields. To most they were just ordinary people but to Oikawa it was like meeting a famous actor or athlete. 

“Yes, Dr. Sato thank you for having us today.” They all exchanged pleasantries and introductions. It took all of Oikawa’s willpower not to ask for their autographs. 

“Well Dr. Oikawa it is 2:00pm. Shall we begin with your presentation?” They all settled around the table and suddenly Oikawa was left standing alone at the front of the room. For a few brief moments he stood frozen in fear. He had practiced this presentation a hundred times but now his mind couldn’t conjure up the words he needed to say. It felt like the air had been sucked out of the room and his head started to spin.

On the opposite end of the room there was a large mirror hung on the wall. Oikawa’s eyes settled on his reflection and caught the jewel tone green of his tie. He remembered Iwaizumi’s words of encouragement this morning, the countless nights he had forced Oikawa to sleep or eat so he wouldn't work himself too hard, how he sat and listened to Oikawa go through his research a hundred times even though he had no idea what any of this meant. 

_ “You’re going to do amazing today” _

Even when he was on the other side of Tokyo Iwaizumi still managed to be there for Oikawa when he needed him most. The brunette felt all of his anxieties melt away and he pictured himself in Iwaizumi’s living room, giving this presentation while the love of his life sat on the couch eating cheese puffs and as he tried to not look bored out of his mind. There with Iwaizumi by his side there was nothing to be afraid of. 

“Thank you all for joining me today…”

~~~

An hour had passed and Oikawa was flipping through his last few slides. Everything had gone perfectly. He never stumbled over his words and was able to answer each question with ease. A soft knock at the door caused him to pause and all eyes fell onto the young receptionist standing in the doorway. 

“Yes, Yachi-san? Is there a problem?”

“I deeply apologize for the intrusion but Oikawa-san I just received a call from fire Chief Ukai. He asked me to urgently ask you to answer your cellphone.” Oikawa felt the world slow down around him. Before the presentation he had turned his cellphone onto airplane mode and tucked it into his laptop bag so that it didn't interrupt his presentation. 

There was only one reason why Chief Ukai would be calling and a heavy ball of dread formed in Oikawa’s stomach. 

The brunette fumbled with his laptop bag and pulled out his phone, turning it off the airplane mode setting. The second it was connected to a cellphone tower it roared to life. 5 missed calls from Bokuto. 15 from Kuroo. 3 from Daichi. All of them left voicemails. Before he had the chance to call any of them back it began to ring. It was Kuroo again. Numbly Oikawa pressed the answer button. 

“Thank fucking god! Oikawa you need to come to Inoue Hospital. There was an accident on call. Iwaizumi is hurt bad. They don’t know if he’s going to make it.” 

Kuroo continued to speak but Oikawa couldn’t hear him. He didn’t feel the phone slip out of his hand and clatter onto the floor. He didn’t feel his knees buckle or Asahi’s hands as they caught him before he hit the table. Everything around him faded and all he could focus on was Kuroo’s last sentence repeating over and over again in his head. 

Hajime was dying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to say the next chapter is coming soon but my laptop is doing this super fun thing where it doesn't want to charge! Please bare with me I'm sorry to leave you in the cliff hanger. The next chapter will start out from Iwaizumi's prospective of before the fire that injured him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They knew this was a risk every time they started a shift...but that didn't make the pain more bearable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie guys I cried while I wrote this. 
> 
> This chapter is a little shorter but it felt like a natural place to end. 
> 
> I just want to say that I am not a doctor so Iwaizumi's injuries may be super unrealistic and in real life idk if he would survive them or not. I was going for flare not for realism. 
> 
> There is also a short section of this chapter from Kuroo's POV.
> 
> TW:
> 
> There is graphic bodily harm in this chapter (broken bones, bleeding, etc).

Iwaizumi sat in his office attempting to file some paperwork but he couldn’t focus and his mind kept wandering. After reading the same paragraph for the past 5 minutes he sat the file down on his desk and raked his hands across his face. 

“What’s up Cap? You seem tense.” Kuroo leaned against the doorframe and gave Iwaizumi a curious look. 

“Oikawa had his big presentation today and...and I should be there! I should be there supporting him but I’m here and…” Iwaizumi let out a frustrated sigh. He was  _ so proud _ of Oikawa and the work he had done. He wanted to be there to support his partner during these special moments but his erratic schedule and long shifts were getting in the way. 

“Hey, I feel ya. I had to miss Kenma’s college graduation because of work. I was a rookie and they wouldn’t give me the shift off. It’s frustrating but I’m sure Oikawa understands.” Tooru had told Iwaizumi countless times that he didn’t need to feel bad, that he understood Iwaizumi had no control over his hours, but the firefighter couldn’t help but feel guilty. 

“He told me he would call me after and tell me all about it. I booked us a trip to Kyoto and a room in an onsen for the weekend so he can relax.” A sly grin spread across Kuroo’s face. 

“Look at you Cap! I’m sure there are plenty of ways you can help him  _ relax _ .” Iwaizumi’s face flushed bright red. 

“Get out of my office!” Kuroo opened his mouth to retort but he was cut off by the crackle of the loudspeaker. 

_ “ _ _ Engine 41, Truck 12, Battalion 2, Squad 1, Ambo 113. Warehouse fire. 234 Fukurodani Drive." _

Iwaizumi felt his stomach drop. If they were calling in Chief Ukai then that meant there was a big problem. 

The firehouse sprung into action, each crew loading into their trucks. Engine 41 led the way with Kiyoko behind the wheel and Iwaizumi riding shotgun. Truck 12 followed right after with Ennoshita driving and Daichi in the passenger seat. Then there was the ambulance being driven by Tsukishima. Following behind them was Chief Ukai in Battalion 2. 

There was a nervous energy in the truck. They all knew they were walking into the lion's den. 

~~~

They could smell it before they could see it. Huge plumes of thick black smoke billowed into the sky and the smell of burning chemicals hung like a smog in the streets. 

“Shit.” Iwaizumi had been working as a firefighter for years and had looked death in the face countless times over, rarely did he ever feel fear in those moments, but he felt it now. 

There were 3 types of warehouse fires that never failed to make a firefighter’s blood run cold. 

The first is a lumber yard fire. The second a tire warehouse fire. The third  _ a mattress factory fire _ . 

Mattresses are dense making them burn hot for a long time. There are little to no regulations on the types of chemicals and materials that can be used in them, meaning that the companies always went with what was cheapest, not what was safest. A single factory could store thousands of mattresses, all of which are the perfect tinder for an untamable fire. 

All of Squad 1 looked up at the huge building as they pulled into the parking lot. It was multiple stories and the fire had broken through the windows, scorching the brick walls as it attempted to crawl into the neighboring houses and trees. Civilians pushed their way out of the emergency exits, their skin soot stained. 

“Alright Squad 1 listen up!” The firefighters formed a semi circle around Chief Ukai. 

“I have already requested backup but the next crew won’t be here for another 15 minutes. This is a mattress fire so you all know what that means. Our job is to get in, rescue the civilians, and get back out. I need you all in top form right now, understand?” 

“Yes Chief!” They shouted in unison. 

“Work in pairs. No heroics. Get in and get out.” Ukai’s tone was harsh but they all knew how to read between the lines.  _ Stay alive. _ Iwaizumi stepped forward to direct the crew.

“Ok Engine 41 Truck 12 listen up! Everyone get into pairs. Engine we need to find access to the second floor and clear it first. Truck you guys clear the ground floor. Everyone keep your coms on and when I give the signal to get out you  **_get out._ ** ”

“Yes Captain!” 

“Let’s move!” 

~~~

The inside of the warehouse is what Iwaizumi pictured hell would look like. Civilians had told them that the fire started on the second floor. When they entered the building the fire surrounded them on all sides, forming a blazing tunnel for them to tread through. 

Kuroo and Iwaizumi led Engine 41 through the flames. A woman choking for fresh air had told them to take 2 lefts and they would find the staircase. She said she had heard screaming from upstairs but Iwaizumi couldn’t hear anything over the roar of the fire. 

The stairwell was set ablaze, the flimsy metal handrail was drooping under the intense heat. At the base of the stairs there was a crumpled body, flesh burning bright red from where the flames had reached out and kissed his skin. 

“Nishinoya, Shimizu get him out of here!” The firefighters carried out the limp body while the rest of the crew continued up the stairs. 

The only word Iwaizumi could use to describe the second floor was red. All traces of what might have been there before were gone, the fire had consumed everything in its path. It reached out to them and even in his protective clothing Iwaizumi could feel the heat. 

“Fire department call out!” A small voice in his head told him this was pointless. If there had been anyone up here before they were lost now. This beast had gone feral, any unfortunate soul who stood in its path wouldn’t have stood a chance, but Iwaizumi couldn’t give up hope. If someone was out there he would find them. 

The floorboards creaked under their weight. Embers rained down from the ceiling as the fire ate through the support beams. Even the brick walls started to crumble under its persistent beating. 

“Captain the east rooms are all clear.” Yaku’s voice crackled over the radio. 

“Same with the west rooms.” It was Shirabu who spoke this time. Iwaizumi and Kuroo waded through the fire at their feet, calling into the rooms for anyone who might be left. 

“Iwaizumi, it has been 25 minutes. I don’t think the roof is going to last much longer. I want you to pull back.” The fire was tearing through the building like it was paper, turning once sturdy wood and metal into ash. 

“Engine 41 pull back.” Iwaizumi followed Kuroo back through the inferno. Even though the fire was scorching around them he felt ice cold dread in the pit of his stomach. The woman had said she heard screaming but they found no one. It could have been a trick of the ear but the Captain couldn’t help but fear they had overlooked a hallway or a room.

The six remaining firefighters converged at the stairwell. Iwaizumi sent all of his men down before him, keeping a sharp eye on the ceiling and the floor. The fire seemed to grow brighter as they left, as if it was trying to gather the strength to bring down the whole building before they could leave. 

“Wait!” Kuroo was the last to walk down the stairs. The lieutenant stopped and turned back to his Captain. Iwaizumi reached over and yanked at his friend’s shoulder, pulling him back onto the solid floor. The metal staircase creaked one last time before it collapsed in on itself. 

Iwaizumi and Kuroo stood side by side as they watched their only exit crumble into a useless heap of broken metal.

“Chief, the stairwell collapsed. Kuroo and I are still stuck on the second floor!” Iwaizumi willed his heart to stop racing. Now that they were trapped the building seemed to disintegrate before their eyes. The fire began to punch holes in the ceiling causing blazin chunks of metal and wood to crash at their feet. 

“Iwaizumi can you get to the west end of the building? We are pulling the truck up with the ladder to get you.” Iwaizumi and Kuroo traversed across the floor to try and get to the west end of the building. It was like walking through a minefield, one wrong step and the floor would dissolve underneath you and send you falling into a fiery grave. 

The captain used his gloved hand to punch out the remaining glass in the window. The outside world seemed like a fantasy as he was standing in hell. He couldn’t help but wonder if he would ever feel the cool grass under his feet again. 

The fire thrashed against them. It clawed at their suits and masks, desperate to tear through their skin and fill their lungs. It called them fools as they waited by the window for that long white ladder to bring them to safety. It shook the walls and floors, it was like they were in a tiny row boat, desperately trying to stay afloat in the oceans of hell. 

Iwaizumi wondered if this is what the civilians he rescued felt like, if this is what Oikawa felt like when Iwaizumi had rescued him all those months ago. He remembered the nights where nightmares plagued his lover’s mind and only the feeling of cool bath water surrounding him could bring him rest. 

As a firefighter he had never feared fire but he respected it. It was a wild creature trying to survive but he had the tools to cage and defeat it. Now he was the one trapped, surrounded on all sides by impenetrable walls of fire. In these desperate and fleeting moments the only thing Iwaizumi wished for was to tell Tooru that he loved him one more time. 

Just as it seemed like the fire would consume them whole, the tides shifted in their favor. The heavy knock of the truck ladder against the window was sweeter than any choir of angels. 

“Kuroo go!” Iwaizumi pushed his best friend forward towards the window. The lieutenant looked back at him, Iwaizumi could see the fear in his eyes, and he knew that Kuroo was seeing the same expression mirrored in his own eyes. 

The captain helped steady his friend onto the ladder and felt a wash of relief as Kuroo climbed towards safety. They were going to be fine. 

Iwaizumi moved to the window to follow his friend but as he took a step forward he knew he had made a mistake. The floor cracked under his weight and screamed under the pressure. Kuroo’s head whipped around at the noise and the last thing Iwaizumi saw was bright golden eyes widening in horror. The fire welcomed him with open arms, pulling him close, and as he fell into its embrace everything faded to black.

~~~

“CAPTAIN!” Kuroo screamed in horror as he watched his best friend vanish before his eyes. The lieutenant clumsily tried to turn around on the ladder, desperate to rescue Iwaizumi from the fiery void. 

“Kuroo do not go back in there! That is an order!” Ukai screamed at him. 

“We have to go get him! CAPTAIN!” Kuroo felt his body begin to shake. Hajime...he couldn’t...they had to get him back. 

“Daichi, Ennoshita. Get in there now! Kuroo get your ass back down here!” 

“Yes Chief!” The other lieutenant quickly pulled on his helmet and darted back into the inferno. 

Kuroo scrambled off the ladder, not pausing when his arm or leg slipped sending him crashing into the metal rungs. The second his feet were back on solid ground he dashed for the front door of the warehouse but Ukai’s steel grasp on his shoulder stopped him. 

“I have to go get him Chief!” 

“Daichi and Ennoshita are already in there! Sending you in alone would be a suicide mission!” 

Seconds felt like hours and minutes were an eternity. The entirety of Squad 1 stared at the front doors with bated breath. 

“Daichi status report!” The radio remained silent. The world was frozen around them. This couldn’t be happening...it couldn’t end like this. 

Kuroo wanted to scream. He should have waited. They should have crawled out together. 

“Come on…” 

Finally, the front doors of the building were kicked open. 

“We need a gurney now!” Kuroo let out a sob of relief as he rushed forward. Daichi and Ennoshita were dragging a limp Iwaizumi out of the hellfire and into the cool grass. Tsukishima and Semi sprinted over to them and the captain was placed on the gurney between them. Semi made quick work of ripping off Iwaizumi’s jacket and the seasoned paramedic couldn’t help but let out a gasp at the sight before him. 

Several of Iwaizumi’s ribs were cracked and the pale white bones jutted out of the soft skin. Blood poured out of the wounds and pooled beneath him. There was a large gash on his temple and a steady stream of blood rushed down his cheek and neck. 

“I don’t have a pulse.” Tsukishima and Kuroo continued to push the gurney forward while Semi straddled his captain’s legs and began to push at his chest. Kuroo felt a heavy wave of dread wash over him as he watched the pulses shake Iwaizumi’s lifeless body. The captain’s normal scowl was gone, replaced by an almost peaceful expression. In any other circumstance you might think he was sleeping. 

“Squad 1 I know we are all worried now but we have a job to do! This fire is still a danger and needs to be put out.” The crew’s gaze snapped from their captain to Chief Ukai. There was pain written all over the man’s face. He knew how badly they all wanted to follow but they couldn’t abandon an active fire. 

“You heard him! Yaku and Yahaba get Engine 41’s line in there. Terushima and Bokuto aim Truck 12’s hose towards the east end where the fire originated.” Daichi’s tone was clipped as he stepped into the now vacant role of leading Squad 1. Kuroo ignored them all and continued towards the back of the ambulance. Not even the devil himself could keep Kuroo from going to the hospital right now. 

They loaded the gurney into the back of the ambulance. Tsukishima sprinted to the front while Kuroo sat in the back with Semi. The paramedic was still manually pumping the captain’s heart, desperately trying to get it to come back to life. Kuroo attempted to stop the blood pouring out of Iwaizumi’s wounds. He felt nauseous every time his hands brushed up against the shattered bones that lanced through the captain’s skin. 

Tsukishima flew through the streets of Tokyo towards the nearest hospital. It was almost like the 3 of them could see the clock above Iwaizumi’s head counting down. They just prayed they could get there before it hit zero. 

Tsukishima must have alerted the hospital of Iwaizumi’s critical condition because when they got there the back doors of the ambulance flew open and a team of nurses and doctors descended upon them in a swarm. Semi and Kuroo were pushed aside, left to helplessly watch as Iwaizumi’s limp body was carried through a set of double doors. Kuroo watched through the tiny window as he was taken down the hall, refusing to look away until the captain had been whisked out of sight. 

Kuroo looked down at the blood that drenched his arms and shirt. Iwaizumi’s blood. The lieutenant threw his fist against the nearest wall and let out a pained cry. They all knew that this was a risk when they went to work everyday but that didn’t make the pain any more bearable. 

~~~

Oikawa burst through the Emergency Room doors and all he saw was a sea of black and yellow uniforms. 

“KUROO!” His hysterical scream silenced the room. Squad 1 looked at the man their captain loved most. They saw his tear streaked face and panic filled eyes. A path was cleared directly to the lieutenant who was slumped in one of the blue pleather chairs. Oikawa let out a choked gasp when he saw the dark burgundy that stained the entire front of Kuroo’s shirt. Daichi reached out to steady Oikawa before he could fall to his knees. 

“H..Hajime…” The firefighters had managed to remain composed but they felt their visages crack at Oikawa’s broken sob. 

“He’s in surgery. He is in critical condition…” Oikawa’s fingers dug into Daichi’s arm. 

No. No this. This couldn’t...Hajime can’t…

Oikawa replayed the last 10 months in his head. Like a movie he watched himself fall hopelessly in love with Iwaizumi. He saw their first date, long nights of sitting and talking about everything and anything, sleepy morning smiles, heartfelt notes and confessions, hours of laughter. He remembered Iwaizumi’s warm touch, the feeling of his lips, the sound of his voice. Every tiny detail he had taken for granted suddenly became the most important thing in the world. 

Oikawa saw the future he had dreamed about slip through his fingers like sand. Iwaizumi standing next to him at the altar slowly faded away. The two of them in front of their first house turned to ash. Oikawa desperately tried to grasp the dreams but they all crumbled under his touch. 

He thought about this morning. How Hajime had gripped his shoulders and lovingly told him everything would be alright. How could everything be alright if he was gone? 

The full weight of his despair crumbled the last shreds of Oikawa’s resolve. The brunette turned into Daichi and his agonized wails echoed throughout the quiet hospital. One by one the firefighters around him succumbed to their grief. 

All they could do was wait and hope that Iwaizumi would be strong enough to hold on. 

~~~

It had been 15 hours since Oikawa had picked up his phone. 15 hours of sitting in the dimly lit waiting room, jumping every time a door opened and desperately hoping it would be news about Hajime. 

The majority of Squad 1 had returned home. Kuroo, Daichi, and Ukai remained anchored to their chairs. Kenma had come in at one point with food for them all and a change of clothes for Kuroo. The faux blonde didn’t bother with a thinly veiled attempt at comfort. Instead he handed Oikawa a box of chicken strips and french fries and told him that if he didn’t eat he might pass out and miss news about Iwaizumi. 

On a short trip to the bathroom Oikawa accidentally stumbled upon Kuroo clinging to his fiance, sobbing into his shoulder. Kenma gave him a steady look from across the hall and Oikawa turned around, not mentioning anything when Kuroo came back with red rimmed eyes and a runny nose. 

Sugawara also came by and sat with them for a few hours. The guidance counselor had brought him a change of clothes and a toothbrush. The ashen haired man gave him a knowing look as he handed Oikawa the toiletry supplies. Oikawa couldn’t help but notice how he hugged Daichi a little tighter and kissed him a little longer before he left. 

“Iwaizumi Hajime?” A short kind faced man in a long white coat stepped into the waiting room. The four men shot up immediately. 

“Is he okay?!” Oikawa’s heart stopped beating in his chest. He felt tattered, and this man’s next words would decide if he fully came unravelled or not. 

“He is out of surgery and stable but he isn’t out of the woods yet. His broken ribs punctured both of his lungs and he lost a lot of blood. All of his internal organs are bruised and we aren’t sure if he has brain damage or not. Once the swelling goes down we will need to run some more tests to be sure.” 

Oikawa tried to process the doctor’s words. Hajime was alive but just barely. 

“Can I see him?” Oikawa needed to see him, he needed to touch him, he needed to tell Iwaizumi how much he loved him. The doctor, Takeda, gave them all a soft smile. Warm brown eyes looked at the haggard figures before him. 

“I can take you all to see him. We had to put him into a medically induced coma but I still need you all to remain quiet.” They all followed closely behind Takeda through the winding hallways of the hospital. He led them to a silent floor and opened the third door on the right. 

Iwaizumi lay motionless in the stark white hospital bed. A large clear tube ran down his throat, forcing his lungs to pump oxygen throughout his body. His head was wrapped in crisp bandages, the majority of his hair had been shaved off. His entire chest and abdomen was covered dressing. The only sound in the room was the steady beep of the heart monitor and the rhythmic pump of the artificial lungs. 

Oikawa stepped forward. He reached out and grasped Iwaizumi’s hand, his heart aching when he didn’t feel the familiar squeeze back. 

“Oh Hajime.” A slender finger reached out and traced the captain’s cheek, one of the few unblemished areas left on his body. 

“Hajime...if you can hear me...come home baby...please. Come back to me. _Don’t go_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I brought you 0 comfort with this chapter! See ya next time.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The long road to recovery begins here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi friends! I am so sorry for the hiatus. My computer broke so I’ve been typing all of this out on my phone which took me a lot longer than when I use my computer. I wanted to get this out on June 10th (Iwa’s bday) but obviously that didn’t happen. I’m going to get my computer fixed soon but I still can’t promise a speedy update after this.
> 
> After 2 heart wrenching chapters I hope this one eases everyone’s pain a little bit.

It had been two weeks since the accident. Two weeks since he had heard Hajime’s voice, felt his touch, or seen his smile. Oikawa had taken immediate leave from work so that he could be at the hospital as often as possible. He had grown familiar with the nurses and doctors in charge of Hajime’s care. They all gave him pitied smiles when he would ask for updates, always telling him that only time would tell if the captain would recover. 

Tooru mainly sat at his lover’s bedside and talked. He talked for hours about anything and everything that he could think of. The lack of reply from Hajime kept Oikawa’s wobbly voice floating throughout the room; he couldn’t handle the silence. 

The other firefighters stopped by daily to show their support. On their days off Kuroo and Daichi would sit in the room and force Oikawa to go home and rest, promising that they wouldn’t leave Iwaizumi’s side until he returned. Tooru couldn’t stand the idea of Hajime waking up in the hospital room alone and confused. 

Technically, visitors weren’t supposed to sleep in the hospital but when the nurses walked into the darkened room to see Oikawa slumped against the side of the hospital bed, his fingers tightly laced with Hajime’s, they would lightly drape a blanket over his shoulders and sneak out of the room in silence. 

Tonight was one of those nights. Oikawa stirred slightly, the pins and needles tingling in his arms rousing him from his sleep. The room was dark, the only light coming from the pale yellow street lamp outside the window. Tooru sat up with a soft groan, countless nights of sleeping hunched over had caused his back and neck to ache. 

Mocha brown eyes gazed down at Iwaizumi’s still figure. His skin was paler from spending weeks in the shelter of the hospital, all the life that once lit up his face was now replaced by a never changing peaceful visage. 

Oikawa slid his phone out of his pocket and looked at the time. The numbers 12:01am blinked back at him. The date under the clock caused his breath to catch in his throat. For weeks Oikawa had been crying and he thought that  _ finally _ his tear ducts had gone dry, but new droplets ran down his cheeks. 

With a shaky hand he cupped his lover’s cheek, it was warm but not hot with the fire that normally ran through the captain’s veins. Oikawa stood and did his best to not disturb any of the tubes and cords attached to his lover as he placed a tender kiss to his forehead. 

It was June 10th.

“Happy birthday Iwa-chan.”

~~~

Everything felt fuzzy and slow. His brain tried to force his body to move but even thinking about moving was a chore. It felt like his brain had been turned to molasses and everything was in slow motion. The world around him sounded like it was underwater, muffled echoes that seemed like they were miles away. 

_ Open your eyes. _

With everything he had he forced his eyelids open just a centimeter. The light hurt and his eyes burned like he was looking directly into the sun. 

Where was he? He couldn’t remember anything. 

His throat hurt. Why was it so hard to swallow?

There was a voice. He knew that voice. It was chirpy and melodic. He wanted to talk back to it. 

God he was so tired. The hazy edges of sleep wrapped around his brain, lulling him back into the darkness. 

His hand felt warm. There was a familiar weight on it. He tried to force his fingers to move. 

The voice stopped. 

He tried to fight against the warm embrace of sleep. He wanted to tell the voice to keep talking. The silence was unbearable. He didn’t want to be alone. 

_ Please don’t leave me.  _

It felt like he was falling and the small sliver of light slowly vanished as he was pulled into the darkness. 

~~~

“So we did an EEG and it does look like there has been a spike in brain activity.” 

Oikawa’s heart skipped in his chest. He thought for a moment that he had gone crazy. That his brain was so desperate for Iwaizumi to wake up that he had imagined the twitch of his fingers, but then he saw the slight fluttering of his lover’s eyelids and he yelled for a nurse. 

“This doesn’t mean that he will wake up from his coma any time soon but it is a step in the right direction. He is a fighter. There aren’t many who come through these doors in his condition and are able to pull through, but I am hopeful that he will recover.” 

Of course Hajime would pull through. Months ago Iwaizumi had made him a promise as he rescued a trembling Oikawa from a burning apartment building. 

_ “I’m Iwaizumi. I’m going to keep you safe, I promise.” _

Oikawa still needed Iwaizumi to keep him safe. He needed the firefighter by his side because the idea of a future without him was too much to bear. So of course he was going to pull through. He had promised.

~~~

This time it wasn’t as difficult to open his eyes. The room was dark now, the lack of harsh light made it easier to adjust. 

His brain still felt slow but he was able to process his surroundings. Even in the dim light he could see the stark white walls and floor of the room. His years as a first responder made it easy to recognize where he was. 

A hospital. 

Why was he in a hospital? 

Emerald green eyes continued to scan the room and they widened when they landed on the slumped figure to his right. 

The messy mop of chestnut hair was a far cry from its normal impeccable style, but it was one Hajime recognized from months of waking up to it snuggled against his chest. 

He opened his mouth to call out to his lover but stopped when his lips hit plastic. He swallowed and felt his muscles move around the tube deep in his throat. His body lurched as he gagged. 

The movement was enough to startle Oikawa awake. Sleepy mocha brown eyes blinked up at him in the darkness. 

“Iwa?” His voice was hesitant, like he didn’t believe what he was seeing. Iwaizumi gagged again at the forgine object in his throat. 

“Iwa! Nurse! Nurse!” The brunette shot up out of his chair. The movement made Iwaizumi dizzy. 

“Iwa, it's okay. You’re okay.” Oikawa was sobbing. The lights were flicked on in the room and the brightness made Iwaizumi wince. Several new faces came into his vision, all of them talking to him at once. 

Iwaizumi searched them all for Oikawa. He tried to call out to his lover but he just gagged again. Where was Oikawa? He needed Oikawa. 

“His heart rate is picking up. We need to sedate him.” Iwaizumi desperately tried to yell for Tooru. He didn’t want to be alone. 

~~~ 

Oikawa sat in the once again quiet room. The nurses had sedated Hajime so now the firefighter was sleeping peacefully in his bed. They had removed the long tube from his throat and replaced it with a mask. It made Oikawa feel better to know that the soft rise of Iwaizumi’s chest was because of his own body and not the force of a machine. 

The doctor said that he would remain asleep for a few hours and Oikawa couldn’t take his eyes off the clock. Against all odds Iwaizumi had survived his fall and his injuries. They didn’t know the extent of the damage but Tooru vowed to be by the captain’s side throughout all of it. 

The brunette rubbed a thumb over Iwaizumi’s knuckles as he sat by his bedside. 

“You’ve done so well Iwa. Just a little more. Come back to me.”

~~~

Iwaizumi let out a groan. His head was pounding in his skull and his tongue felt like sandpaper. Emerald green eyes fluttered open to meet chocolate brown. 

“T..Tooru..” His voice cracked and his throat felt raw. Oikawa let out a shuddery breath and squeezed Iwaizumi’s fingers in an iron tight grip. 

Iwaizumi tried to sit up but a gentle hand on his chest kept him against the bed. 

“Iwa-chan do you know where you are?” The firefighter blinked and looked around the sterile room. 

“A hospital.” Oikawa gave him a thin smile. Iwaizumi noted his lover’s pale skin and blood shot eyes. Everything about Oikawa looked fragile, like he might shatter at the lightest of touches. 

“Yes, do you know why you’re here?” That was harder for Iwaizumi. He racked his brain and tried to remember the last thing he had done. 

There were snippets of memories. Faded images that he tried to chase through a fog. He remembered the feeling of dread sitting like lead in his stomach and the suffocating heat crawling against his skin. 

“A fire?” Oikawa gave a shaky nod. 

“You answered a call to a mattress warehouse fire. You and Kuroo got stuck on the second floor. He managed to get out but the floor collapsed under you and you fell…” Iwaizumi knew there was more to the story by the way his lover’s voice wobbled. Hearing Oikawa’s recount of what had happened helped Iwaizumi’s mind clear and the incident became a clear crisp memory once again. 

The last thing he remembered was the fear of never being able to tell Tooru that he loved him again. 

“How long have I been out?” 

“About...about a month…Iwa when you got here...the doctors didn’t know if you’d…” Tears started to stream down Oikawa’s face. Iwaizumi reached out to cup the other man’s cheek and brushed the tears away with his thumb. 

It was jarring to know he’d been in the hospital for a month, but seeing the fear in Oikawa’s eyes as he recounted what had happened made Iwaizumi’s chest ache. He had been in Oikawa’s position one too many times and he knew the constant fear and longing his lover felt while sitting by his bedside. 

“I’m here now. I’m sorry to keep you waiting for so long.” It was as if his words broke the brittle dam Oikawa had managed to construct to keep his emotions at bay. The brunette let out and strangled sob and fell into Iwaizumi’s chest. The firefighter winced at the weight on his chest, he’d have to ask about the full extent of his injuries later, but for now he did his best to wrap his arms around Tooru and hold him close. 

Oikawa’s sobs caused a nurse to poke her head into the room. When she saw Hajime was awake she quickly scurried off to alert the doctor. 

Dr. Takeda was a kind faced man who patiently answered all of Iwaizumi’s questions. Oikawa never left his side as he listened to the multiple surgeries and procedures they had performed to save his life. Iwaizumi couldn’t help but think about what would have happened if he had taken one step to the left or if Daichi had been a few minutes too late. 

“So how long until I’m cleared to go back?” Takeda opened his mouth to speak but was cut short by Oikawa. 

“You can’t be serious.” The brunette looked at him with astonishment and horror. 

“What do you mean? Of course I’m serious. I need to know when I can go back to work.”

“Hajime you almost  _ died.  _ You did die! Several times actually! And you’re actually entertaining the idea of going back!?” Oikawa’s voice had raised several octaves and boarded on shrill. 

Of course Iwaizumi was going to go back to the firehouse. Yes, he had been injured but his whole life was working as a firefighter. The only way he wouldn’t go back is if they told him he couldn’t, and even then he would probably fight that. 

“Please Dr. Oikawa, I have to ask you to keep your voice down.” The brunette gave Iwaizumi one last hard glare before snapping his jaw shut. 

“ Thank you. Iwaizumi-san it will be almost a year till you fully recover. Your injuries were extensive and it will take time for your body to heal. You might never be completely back to normal but after extended bed rest and intensive physical therapy I believe you will one day be able to resume your duty as a firefighter.” 

Oikawa stayed silent, choosing to glare at his lap instead of participate in the rest of the conversation. After Dr. Takeda left, Iwaizumi turned to look at the brunette. 

“Hey.” Silence. 

“Oikawa.” Still nothing. 

“ _ Tooru _ .” This earned him a swift glance. 

“Listen I’m really tired. We will talk about this later but I just woke up from a month long coma and all I want right now is to be with you. Can we please just do that?”

Oikawa opened his mouth to say something but then closed it. His shoulders sagged with fatigue and he let out a defeated sigh. 

“Yes. I’m sorry Iwa-chan.” Iwaizumi reached out and tugged at Oikawa’s sweater sleeve. The brunette allowed the firefighter to manhandle him forward. 

“Iwa I’m not allowed in the bed with you. The nurses-“

“I don’t give a damn what the nurses want. Get your ass up here with me.” A soft smile spread across Oikawa’s face as he gave into his boyfriend’s request and crawled into the hospital bed. It was a tight fit, and Iwaizumi would be lying if he said it didn’t make his side hurt a bit, but he reveled in the feeling of having Tooru tucked into his side. 

“I...I never thought I’d get this again.” Oikawa’s voice was tiny. The confession caused Iwaizumi to grip him a little tighter. 

“Shhh. I’m here now. Get some rest.” It didn’t take long for Oikawa’s breathing to even out into gentle sighs. Iwaizumi watched the steady rise and fall of Oikawa’s chest as he finally allowed himself time to process and come to terms with what had happened to him. 

He had  _ died _ . If it weren’t for the quick reactions of his crew and the expertise of the doctors he would be 6ft under a dirt blanket right now. He would never get to hear Kuroo’s wild hyena laugh again or listen to Bokuto’s outlandish recounts of his dreams. He’d never slip on his uniform again to save a lost soul. 

Oikawa shifted slightly in his arms. 

Tooru. Iwaizumi thought about never holding his lover again. Never getting to hear his laugh or see his smile. Never tasting his lips after he’d indulged in too much milk bread or listening to him prattle on about the stars. 

Iwaizumi’s breath hitched. He thought about how scared Tooru must have been. How many hours had his lover sat at his bedside begging for him to open his eyes? 

Tears slid freely down Iwaizumi’s cheeks. In this quiet moment he allowed himself to be vulnerable. He placed a tender kiss to the crown of Oikawa’s head. The brunette continued to sleep peacefully. 

“I’m so sorry.” The shock of today combined with his weakened state caused fatigue to pull at Iwaizumi’s eyes. The couple clung to each other in their sleep as if they were scared that when their eyes fluttered open this would have all been a dream. 

~~~

“CAPTAIN!” 

“Shut up Bo! We’re in a hospital!” Iwaizumi looked up to see a steady stream of his friends pour into his room. A wide smile spread across his face as they all huddled around his bed. Kuroo stepped forward and leaned down to clutch Iwaizumi into a tight hug. 

“Glad you’re alright Cap.” Iwaizumi didn’t tease his lieutenant for the slight wobble in his voice. 

One by one Squad 1 came up to hug or shake his hand. All of them stated how relieved they were that he was awake and on the mend. They brought an assortment of trinkets and gifts. 

The sensible ones brought flowers. Terushima brought him a bottle of top shelf whiskey and offered to crack it open right there in the hospital room. Bokuto bought a 5ft tall Godzilla plushie that now had its own chair in the corner of the room. Kuroo gifted him a cane that was in the shape of a penis. 

Even after a month of being in a coma he had not gotten enough rest to deal with them. 

“So Iwaizumi when do you get to go home?” Chief Ukai occupied the only other chair in the room that wasn’t claimed by a Yaku sized stuffed animal. 

“I still have another week in the hospital. Oikawa is at home right now getting things ready so I can maneuver around in a wheelchair easier. The doctors say after a year of rest and PT I should be cleared to work again.”

A hush fell over the room. 

“You’re coming back?” All eyes were focused on the captain. 

“Of course I’m coming back. Being a firefighter is my life. Even after this I can’t imagine doing anything else.” Iwaizumi figured no one else would understand that sentiment better than his crew.

“Well just take your time to heal. We miss you at the firehouse but your health is the most important thing here. We will be here whenever you need us.” Ukai placed a reassuring hand on Iwaizumi’s shoulder. The captain knew the next year was going to be one of the most difficult of his life but it was comforting to know his family would be by his side every step of the way. 

“Yea besides with you gone I get to be in charge. With your lame ass in bed we get to actually have some fun.” Iwaizumi rolled his eyes at Kuroo. 

“You better not ruin my firehouse while I’m gone Roosterhead or else you’ll be scrubbing toilets at your own retirement party.” 

The visit with the crew was exactly what Iwaizumi needed to recharge his soul. Their playful banter and cheerful attitudes allowed him a few moments to not focus on the daunting task of recovery ahead of him. 

Eventually, a nurse came in and put an end to their fun. Squad 1 said their goodbyes and slowly filed out of the room. Daichi was the last one standing next to the hospital bed. 

“Hey Cap. I’m glad you’re feeling better but I...I know how hard this all has to be for you being bed ridden and off the job. I went through it all after that car explosion. I just wanted you to know that I’m always here if you need to talk.” 

Daichi’s words were sobering. Iwaizumi would be lying if he said he didn’t feel a pang of envy as he watched his crew walk out of the room, all ready for their shift the next morning. He had been awake for 2 days and he already yearned to be riding shotgun in Engine 41 as they rushed towards a plume of smoke in the air.

This next year would not only challenge him physically but also emotionally and mentally. It would be more difficult than any fire or rescue because the victim he was saving was himself. 

“Thanks Daichi. Take care of them okay? Make sure Kuroo doesn’t run our reputation into the ground while I’m gone.” The lieutenant let out a soft chuckle. 

“No promises but I’ll try my best. Have a good night. Get some rest.” 

After Daichi left the room Iwaizumi sat alone. The silence in the room was suffocating. He yearned for them to come back, to not leave him behind. He belonged with them, he was their leader and they needed him. 

Iwaizumi looked down at the crisp white bandages that cross crossed along his chest. The bitter taste of failure rose to the back of his throat. 

He was angry but he had no where to direct that anger. He chose to go into that fire because innocent lives were potentially at stake. He couldn’t have predicted the floor was going to collapse. If he had to repeat the scenario over he would always put Kuroo on the ladder first. 

What had happened to him was a terrible accident, one that with no matter how much planning he did and experience he had he couldn’t have foreseen, but still that did little to ease the pain in his chest. 

No matter how hard it was or how long it took he would never rest until he could be back at their side. They had to leave him behind for now but it wouldn’t be long until he was sprinting to catch up. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will hopefully be coming soon! But do not fear one way or another this fic will be finished!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Recovery is testing their relationship. Will their love grow stronger through this struggle or shatter under the pressure?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I missed you all! Did you miss me?? Well you might want to wait till the end of this chapter before you answer. hehe there is an angst tag for a reason~

“You look like shit.” Brown eyes flickered up from his desk to see Makki standing in his doorway. The scientist offered his friend a wry smile in response. 

“How are things at home?” Just the thought of his and Iwaizumi’s shared apartment gave Oikawa a headache. The brunette laid his head against the cool wood of his desk and let out a groan.

“Still not great?” Not great was one way to put it.

Oikawa knew Iwaizumi was going through the hardest time of his life right now. He knew that his partner was in pain both physically and emotionally. And he was trying, he was trying so hard to remember that every day, but Oikawa was reaching the end of his metaphorical rope. 

Long gone was the level headed and unshakable fire captain. Now every day Oikawa was met with brooding, a sharp tongue, and indifference. 

The brunette knew this wasn’t the Iwaizumi that he loved. He knew that the lack of progress in physical therapy was wearing Hajime thin. What was supposed to be a year of recovery had slowly turned into a year and a half and now the time line was dragging itself closer to 2 years. 

Every day Hajime spent hours at the doctors pushing himself, desperately trying to force his body to move like it used to, and then came home defeated when it didn’t. 

Oikawa tried to do everything he could to ease the burden but Iwaizumi hated being waited on. He hated that he couldn’t do something as simple as stand in the shower for longer than 10 minutes or walk up the stairs to their apartment. Oikawa knew he felt small and useless and he had tried to reassure the firefighter that he was no such thing, but his words fell on deaf ears. 

And to top it all off Hajime still insisted on returning to the firehouse. Even after all of this pain and suffering he wanted to go back to the job that put him in this position in the first place. When he brought it up Oikawa just grit his teeth and stayed silent, but every time Hajime spoke about it it fanned the bitter fire of rage that smoldered under the brunette’s skin. 

An alarm caused Oikawa’s phone to ding and the man couldn’t help but feel his stomach drop. 

“I have to go pick Iwa-chan up from the hospital. I’ll talk to you tomorrow Makki.”

The drive to the hospital had become familiar. Oikawa hummed a soft tune as he pulled up to the front doors. Hajime was already sitting on one of the benches waiting for him. Tired green eyes looked up listlessly at the gray sedan. 

Slowly he pushed himself up off the bench and Oikawa could see him wince with the action. The brunette knew better than to try and get out to help his boyfriend into the car, he didn’t want to start the evening off with an argument. This way he could at least be given a few moments of peace between them. 

The fire captain thrust open the car door and sunk into the passenger seat with a grunt. 

“How was your appointment Iwa-chan?” Oikawa kept his voice light even though he knew that he would be met with a gruff reply. 

As expected Iwaizumi answered with a grunt and nothing more, not even gracing Oikawa with a glance. The ride home was done in silence. There was no point to try and engage Iwaizumi into some kind of conversation. 

When they got to their apartment complex Oikawa got out and went to the passenger door. Iwaizumi didn’t have any other option but to have Oikawa help him into the building, he was too weak after his appointments to make the trek unassisted. 

Reluctantly, Iwaizumi let Oikawa wrap an arm around his waist and heave him out of the car. Even though he hated it he had to lean most of his weight onto Oikawa as they walked. 

Slowly they made their way up the stairs to the 3rd floor. What Iwaizumi could once do without a second thought now left him breathless. They made their way inside. 

Oikawa used to love this place more than anything. It was full of happy memories and bright laughter, but now a dreary sadness permeated the air. 

The brunette helped Iwaizumi to the couch, easing him down onto the plush cushions. 

“Do you need anything? Some pain meds?” Throughout most of his healing Iwaizumi had refused to take anything stronger than an Advil. He didn’t like how sluggish and drowsy the pills his doctor prescribed made him feel. 

“Just an aspirin and a water.” Iwaizumi replied. Oikawa dutifully went to the kitchen to retrieve the items and then brought them to his partner. 

“Thanks.” Iwaizumi muttered as he popped the pill in his mouth and then drained the glass of water. Oikawa gently sat down on the couch next to Iwaizumi, taking special care not to jostle him. 

“How was your appointment today?” Brown eyes watched Iwaizumi tense at the question. Even though he knew Hajime hated talking about it, Oikawa still asked, he wanted to stay up to date on the fire captain’s progress no matter how slow. 

“Same as usual. Still can’t fucking do anything.” There was a bitterness in Iwaizumi’s tone. A bitterness that was slowly eating away at the captain. Oikawa let out a soft sigh. 

“Iwa-chan that’s not true.” This was a broken record but Oikawa never wanted to stop reminding the captain that he was progressing. 

“Oikawa…” Iwaizumi groaned. The brunette knew what was coming but he couldn’t stop the words from tumbling out of his mouth. 

“I know you are frustrated but you’re making progress! You don’t run a mile in one leap; it takes a bunch of small steps. You’ll ge-“

“Enough!” Iwaizumi snapped. Oikawa’s jaw clicked shut. 

“Please please just...just stop. I’m too tired for that bullshit tonight.” Anger bubbled in Oikawa’s chest but he stayed quiet. The brunette stood up from the couch. 

“I’m going to make dinner.” Oikawa left Iwaizumi in the living room and made his way to the kitchen. He put both hands on the counter and hung his head, taking in a deep breath to try and control the thundering in his chest. 

Methodically he went through the steps of preparing a simple meal. It allowed him to clear his head. He told himself that Iwaizumi was under a lot of stress right now. That he was just frustrated and he didn’t mean to vent that frustration towards Oikawa. One day this would all be over and he would have his loving Iwa-chan back. 

The scientist brought the plates into the living room, placing them both on the coffee table. Iwaizumi eyed the food with little interest but gave Oikawa a curt nod of thanks nonetheless. 

They ate in silence, as they did most things these days. Iwaizumi didn’t ask about Oikawa’s day or how his new research was going. It seemed like sadness and anger consumed all of the firefighter’s thoughts, nothing else able to permeate the cloud of depression that swirled around his head. 

“Makki and Mattsun said hello. They want us to come over for dinner some time soon.” Oikawa couldn’t handle the silence. The memories of countless hours of laughter and conversation on this couch made the silence feel suffocating. 

“Hm.” Iwaizumi grunted around a mouthful of rice. Oikawa just sighed. 

“Sorry I don’t really feel like parading around pretending everything is fine.” Iwaizumi muttered, the bitterness in his tone almost palpable. Oikawa gripped his chopsticks with white knuckles. 

“I just thought that maybe a night with our friends would help you relax a little. Take your mind off things.” 

Iwaizumi let out a rueful laugh. 

“Take my mind off the fact that I’m broken? Listen you might be able to prance off during the day and live your normal life but I’m stuck like this every day. I don’t want to take my mind off of things, I just want to get better. I just need to heal so I can go back to work.” 

For months Oikawa had bit back his anger. He told himself that he had to be there for Iwaizumi and he didn’t need to add anything else to the firefighter’s already overflowing plate. So he practiced breathing meditation and ran extra hard at the gym, but now he felt it all boil over in his chest. It surged through his veins and up his throat and no matter how hard he swallowed he couldn’t stop it from pouring out of him. Finally, after months of being quiet, Oikawa finally snapped. 

The brunette slammed his plate down on the table, spilling his rice onto the wood and making their water cups sway dangerously. Iwaizumi jumped slightly at the outburst. 

“I have done everything that I could think of to help you. I know you’re stressed. I know you’re frustrated. Every day all I think about is you and how much pain you’re in. I keep telling myself that I just need to step back and help you and stay quiet but I can’t do that anymore. I can’t take this anymore Hajime!”

Oikawa’s voice steadily started to rise and tears streamed down his cheeks. The emotions in his chest were too much for him to stay seated. He stood up off the couch and stared down at Iwaizumi who was silently watching from his seat on the couch. 

“Every day you’re bitter towards me! We barely speak to each other anymore and when we do it’s always a fight! I know this is hard on you but I need you to talk to me! I promised to stand by your side during all of this and I will but I can’t keep living this way. I’m here to help you Hajime but you fight me at every turn! I just...I don’t know what to do anymore.”

Oikawa’s outburst seemed to ignite something in Iwaizumi. Emerald green eyes lit up for the first time in months, but instead of the usual warmth that wrapped cozily around Oikawa, the fire in them now threatened to burn him to ash. 

“Oh I’m sorry Oikawa! I’m sorry I’m not all smiles and cheer like you want! I’m sorry that this is all so hard on YOU! It must be so difficult for you to support a ruined waste of space like me! I never asked you to stay by my side! If you can’t keep living this way then just fucking leave. I don’t need you here.”

Iwaizumi spat the last sentence with enough venom that Oikawa felt it burn his chest. Time seemed to stand still. 

“You don’t mean that.” Oikawa's voice trembled. They were just tired. Too many emotions had been bottled up and were making their way to the surface now. People said things in the heat of the moment but that didn’t mean that they meant the words that fell from their lips. 

“I didn’t ask you to be here, Oikawa. You’re the one who thought that you could stand by my side and things might be hard but it would be ok because we’re together. Well I’m sorry to burst your bubble but things aren’t a fairytale. This is real life and you’re just not strong enough to handle it.”

Tooru stood there shell shocked. The acid in Iwaizumi’s voice was so foreign. Oikawa wasn’t sure if the mouth moving truly belonged to his lover. Each word sunk into his skin like a hot brand. 

After rescuing him from the fire, Iwaizumi had been there to sooth Oikawa night after night when nightmares plagued his dreams. When he was stressed because of his research Iwaizumi was the steady hand that kept Oikawa up right. 

All he wanted was to be that for Hajime. He wanted to pay the firefighter back for the countless times he had been Oikawa’s savior. But now Iwaizumi sat there and threw it back at him. To the firefighter the months Oikawa had spent by his side meant nothing. 

The brunette took in a shaky breath. 

“Well Iwaizumi...if that’s how you feel then I’ll go pack a bag.” A chill had settled over the room. Iwaizumi said nothing as Oikawa walked out of the living room and into their bedroom. The brunette couldn’t keep his hands from trembling as he grabbed a small suitcase and began to pack a week's worth of clothes. He roughly wiped the tears off his face. 

Oikawa was well practiced in plastering on a cheerful smile while he withered inside. 

He walked out into the living room holding his bag. He stepped over to the coffee table and picked up his car keys and phone. 

“Tooru wait…” Iwaizumi sounded tired. Oikawa was exhausted. 

“No. No. You’ve...you’ve said enough.” The brunette paused and opened his mouth to say something else but for once in his life he was speechless. Barely gripping the last shreds of his resolve he turned his back to the man sitting on the couch and walked to the front door, closing it with a soft click. He hoped that it was loud enough to drown out the shattering of his heart. 

~~~

Iwaizumi woke up numb. Over the months had grown used to the world around him being muted. The brilliant colors that once lit up his world now shadowed in gray, but this was different. This was all encompassing. It swallowed him whole and threatened to smother him from the inside out. The numbness was further punctuated by the coolness of the bed next to him, the body that normally kept it warm glaringly absent. 

His stomach and bladder’s protests finally forced him out of bed. He scowled as he reached out for the cane next to his nightstand. Tooru was always telling him that he needed to use it more but to Iwaizumi it was a constant reminder of how far away he was from recovery. 

The firefighter hobbled through his morning routine. Without Oikawa there it was much slower. He hadn’t realized all the little things his boyfriend did for him in the morning until he had to do them himself. By the time he sat down at the kitchen table with a bowl of cereal he was panting. 

Everything was so quiet now that he was alone. The sound of him chewing was the only thing breaking the silence. There was no shuffling in the bedroom as Oikawa got dressed. No dripping from the coffee machine that Oikawa always turned on the second he woke up. 

Iwaizumi quickly wolfed down his Lucky Charms, the cereal felt like cement in his mouth. With a scowl he stood up and dumped the half eaten bowl in the sink. 

He spent most of the day wallowing in self pity and anger in various rooms of the apartment. At first he sat on the couch but everything on the TV was boring. He did see that one of the channels was doing a marathon of the Alien vs Predator movies. Oikawa loved to talk about what he would do if he was one of the scientists in the movie and how he would avoid becoming an incubator. Iwaizumi always teased him and told him he’d be the first person dead. The firefighter set the TV to record all of the movies. 

After finding nothing to entertain him in the living room he moved to the bedroom and tried to take a nap. Every time he closed his eyes his brain supplied him with a never ending loop of his and Oikawa’s fight. He watched Oikawa’s face crumble over and over again. The tears streaming down his face. The cool tone of his voice and rigidness in his shoulders as he left the apartment. 

With a huff he sat up in bed only to wince at the sudden movement. Anger flooded his chest. Iwaizumi snatched his cane and made his way into the bathroom. He stood in front of the mirror and ripped his shirt off. 

He loathed what he saw reflected back at him. Gentle fingers came up and traced over the multitude of scars that now covered his abdomen. He felt soft skin where hard muscle used to be. 

His doctors kept telling him that he should be thankful he’s alive. That recovery would be difficult but there was no cure for death. He knew they were right but he couldn’t help but be angry with himself. He knew his body was capable of doing the exercises his doctors were giving him but...it just wouldn’t listen to him. 

This time last year he was lifting grown men out of burning buildings, carrying 40+ pounds of equipment on his shoulders in the blistering sun, running for miles with Kuroo and Bokuto without stopping, but now he struggled to do a single sit-up. 

And the worst part was they all kept going. Everyone else continued on with their lives while Iwaizumi stood still. He watched their backs as they moved farther and farther away from him. He screamed at his legs to follow them but they stayed firmly planted in place. 

With a sigh he slipped his shirt back on and went back into the bedroom. A quick glance at the clock told him that it was almost time to leave for his physical therapy appointment for the day, but then his stomach dropped. Tooru always came by on his lunch break to drive Iwaizumi to the hospital. After last night he highly doubted the brunette would be coming to get him today. 

The firefighter was scrolling through Google for a cab company when there was a knock at his door. Had Oikawa shown up after all?

Iwaizumi opened the door not to find his boyfriend but instead to see a soft scowl from Kuroo. 

“Oikawa called. Asked if I’d take you to your appointment today.” He supplied the answer before Iwaizumi could even ask the question. 

“Ah.” It was all Iwaizumi could say.

With Kuroo’s assistance Iwaizumi made his way down the stairs and into the other man’s car. Kuroo punched in the address of the hospital into his GPS and then pulled out of the parking lot. 

“What are you doing man?” Kuroo didn’t look at him but Iwaizumi could tell from his exasperated tone that he was disappointed. 

Iwaizumi scowled hard out the window, giving the other man silence as his answer. 

“You’re shutting us all out. You know that we, especially me, Bo, and Daichi, know what you’re going through better than anyone else. Why don’t you talk to us? It’s been weeks since I’ve seen you and then out of the blue I get a call from Oikawa that you don’t want him to take you to your appointments anymore.”

“I’m fine.” 

“Oh really? Ya could have fooled me.” Kuroo bit back in a sarcastic tone. 

“I don’t need you guys to baby me. It’s pathetic”

The car slowed down as they pulled up to a red light. Kuroo whipped his head around, his amber eyes boring into Iwaizumi with such intensity that it made his palms sweat. 

“When I was in the hospital you visited me almost everyday because I was lonely. When Bo was having nightmares after his accident you gave him your office so he could sleep with music and not keep everyone else awake. When Daichi was in physical therapy you started going to the pool every weekend with him because he was embarrassed to do his exercises alone. Were we pathetic then?” 

When the light turned green Kuroo stepped on the gas a little too hard and caused Iwaizumi to jerk forward. He hissed slightly as the seatbelt dug into him. 

“No you weren’t pathetic. I would do anything to support you and you know that.”

“Then why won’t you accept our support?! Is it not good enough?”

“No no it’s nothing like tha-“

“Then what is it like Hajime? Please explain it to me. Because to me it looks like you’re too fucking stubborn to admit that you need help and instead of doing you any good you’re just hurting those around you.”

Iwaizumi opened his mouth to reply but the words died in his throat. He couldn’t say anything to dispute the lieutenant’s words because they were true. Iwaizumi had let his pride get in the way and last night it caused him to hurt the one person who had done nothing but try to help him. 

“I just… I hate this Kuroo. I hate this so much. My body is so weak and it’s so frustrating and seeing you guys still working….I just feel pathetic. I’m supposed to be your leader.” Iwaizumi felt hot tears roll down his cheeks but he didn’t lift a hand to stop them. 

“You still are our leader. No one is filling the role you left. But just because you’re our leader doesn’t mean you aren’t human Hajime. Your body isn’t going to heal if you don’t let it. You were critically injured, cut yourself some slack okay. Continue to work hard but realize that you’re not fighting this battle alone. We are all here to support you.”

A warm arm reached out and gripped Iwaizumi in an awkward half hug due to their positions in the car. The captain took a shaky breath and dried his eyes. 

“I fucked up didn’t I?” Kuroo let out a soft chuckle. 

“Nah. Everyone knows how big of an idiot you are. But I do think you need to call a certain someone and I’m sure buying him ashitty alien plushie and some milk bread probably wouldn’t hurt.”

Now it was Iwaizumi’s turn to laugh. He owed Tooru an apology, a damn good one at that. After being the worst boyfriend on the planet and a major ass he would have to do some serious groveling. 

“Thanks Kuroo...for talking some sense into me.” 

“No problem. We can’t all be born with beauty and brains.” Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. Once they pulled up to the hospital Kuroo parked in front of the main doors. 

“I’ll come pick you up when you’re done. Have a good day sweetie. Don’t work too hard.” Kuroo sang. Iwaizumi swatted at the other man’s hands as he tried to reach over and pinch his cheeks. 

The captain stepped out of the car and immediately pulled out his phone, dialing a number that he had memorized since the day the cocky bastard had put it in his phone. Iwaizumi thought it was going to go to voicemail but at the last second he heard the click of the other receiver. 

“Hello Iwaizumi.” The other voice was overly steady and polite. Hajime hated when Oikawa spoke like this. It was so fake and nothing like the silly tone his partner usually used. 

“Hey listen can we talk later?” He was met with a few moments of sickening silence. Iwaizumi’s heart rate started to pick up. 

“I...I need a few days okay…” The firefighter felt his stomach tie itself in knots. He knew that he had said some hurtful things but the idea of Oikawa not forgiving him hadn’t crossed his mind. 

“Oh um yeah okay. Can we talk Saturday?” He hoped that the three days was plenty of time for Oikawa to sort out whatever he was feeling. 

“Saturday is fine. I have to go. I have a class. Have a good day.” And with that the other end of the call clicked to silence. 

Iwaizumi stared down at his phone. His home screen was a picture of him and Tooru at a festival together. They were both dressed in traditional yukatas. Hajime loved the one Tooru was wearing, the deep purple looked even more rich against his milky white skin and the color brought out the flecks of gold in his brown eyes. 

In the picture Oikawa’s whole face was lit up with a brilliant smile. When was the last time Tooru had smiled like that? 

Iwaizumi had messed up, he knew that, but there was a new fire that burned in his chest. With a new found vigor he walked into the hospital. He had three days. Three days to right his wrongs. Three days to once again become the man Oikawa had fallen in love with. He just prayed that he wasn’t too late. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly I think you guys kind of like it when I hurt you


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tooru thinks. Hajime talks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TWO CHAPTERS IN ONE WEEK!?! 🙀
> 
> Honestly I got an idea for a TsukkiYama fic that I love but I’m forcing myself to at least finish this fic before I start it.
> 
> Anyways prepare for tears! 
> 
> TW: car accident, suicide attempts, drowning.

_“Let’s get lunch.”_

That’s all the text from Sugawara said along with the address to a deli downtown. 

Oikawa had been staying with Makki and Mattsun for the past two days. The couple opened their door to find a sobbing Oikawa sitting in their driveway, his sorrow too heavy for him to carry any longer. 

Iwa had called saying he wanted to talk but Tooru was hesitant. Even if Iwaizumi was both mentally and emotionally fatigued due to his physical therapy, his words still lanced through Oikawa like arrows. The brunette needed time to gather his thoughts. He didn’t want the next time they spoke to be another argument heated by exhaustion and emotions. 

He had taken the past 48 hours to really think and ask himself some difficult questions. Could he handle being with someone who’s job puts them in mortal peril every day? How would he react if Hajime got hurt again? This accident had rattled Oikawa to his core and tested his limits. Now he needed to decide if this was the life he wanted to keep living. 

When Oikawa got to the deli it was teeming with business men from the skyscrapers across the street trying to get a quick lunch. Sugawara had secured them a table outside and Oikawa was surprised to see he wasn’t alone, Akaashi and Kenma were also seated next to him. 

They exchanged pleasantries and small talk until the waiter came and took their food and drink orders. Oikawa hadn’t realized how long it had been since he’d seen them all. Since coming home from the hospital, Iwaizumi rarely went anywhere but physical therapy and had rejected every opportunity to see his friends. It felt good to get out of their dreary apartment. 

“So Oikawa I have to admit that I didn’t just invite you out to lunch to catch up. Would you like to talk about why Daichi and Kuroo are currently taking turns shuttling Iwaizumi to his appointments?”

Oikawa’s face fell. The peaceful atmosphere had been nice while it lasted. 

“Oikawa-san we aren’t here to judge. We understand better than anyone how difficult it can be to care for someone whose job put them in danger. We just wanted to give you the opportunity to talk but if it is too much or makes you uncomfortable we understand.” Akaashi's soft tone eased some of the tension in Oikawa’s shoulders. He was right, if anyone was going to sympathize with him it would be them. 

“It’s just...Hajime hasn’t been the same since he came home from the hospital. He’s always so angry and bitter towards everything. I try to support him, I know he’s going through a lot right now and I just wanted to be there for him like he’s been there for me, but I couldn’t take it anymore. I snapped and yelled at him the other day and...and he…”

Oikawa desperately tried to keep his voice from wobbling and squeezed his eyes tight to stop the tears threatening to spill onto his cheeks. 

“He...he told me that he never asked for me t-to be there and t-that I couldn’t handle this. Then he told me to leave...so I did. He called me a couple days ago and asked if we could talk but I just needed some time to think so we are meeting up tomorrow to talk about it.”

Sugawara wrapped an arm around Oikawa and pulled the brunette into a tight hug. The table stayed silent while Oikawa dried his eyes. 

“And he keeps talking about going back to the firehouse! I understand that he’s worked hard to get to his position and he loves his crew but...but I almost lost him and it seems like all he cares about is jumping right back into danger.” 

The other three gave him a sympathetic look. 

“Being with a firefighter is tough. Last year Daichi got into a really bad accident. He was trying to rescue a woman from her burning car but the engine exploded. A piece of the metal punctured one of his lungs and the force of the explosion broke most of his ribs.” 

A somber look washed over the ashen haired man’s face as he relived some of the worst weeks of his life. 

“He spent a few weeks in the hospital and then had months of physical therapy. I remember having to move our bed downstairs into the living room because he couldn’t walk up the stairs to our room. Walking into the hospital to see him all bandaged up...it was probably the worst day of my life. But the second he woke up he started talking about getting better so he could go back to work, like him almost dying was just a mild inconvenience. 

I was so scared. Truthfully, I’m still scared. I don’t ever want to have to go through that again. Every night before he has to go in for a shift I stay up for hours just watching him sleep, trying to memorize every detail of his face because I’m terrified one day he isn’t going to come home. 

Before he went back we had a long talk about it. I told him I didn’t understand how he could go back to a job that could kill him, and then he told me that being a firefighter had actually saved him. He sat for hours and told me a story about every single person he had saved since he started his job. It didn’t matter how many years it had been since the rescue, he still remembered it perfectly. Then he pulled out a box full of cards, drawings, and trinkets that those people had given him. 

He told me about the day we met and the moment he knew he was in love with me. If he wasn’t a firefighter we probably wouldn’t have ever met. I had never stopped to think about all the good he had done because of his job, I only focused on the negatives. But then I saw the joy on his face as he pulled out a charm bracelet a 6 year old girl had made for him, and I knew I couldn’t ask him to quit. Helping people is what he was born to do and I love him all the more for it.”

Oikawa sat and listened to Sugawara’s story. The reason why he was alive today was because of Iwaizumi. The man had willingly gone into the most dangerous part of the burning building to rescue people who were stuck, and didn’t hesitate to rush to Oikawa when he saw him. 

Tooru thought about all the people who were alive because of his partner and all the people who he had yet to save. 

“I never thought about it like that…” 

“Kuroo got hurt too one time.” Kenma spoke up and the entire table shifted their attention to the petite blonde. 

“This was a while ago, during his first year of being a full-time firefighter. It was a small restaurant fire and Kuroo’s partner was another young guy who wanted to have his big moment so he could get famous and be on the news. I don’t know the details exactly but apparently he was goofing off while they were clearing the restaurant of civilians and somehow knocked over a big tub of oil and what was a small fire instantly grew out of control. Some of the grease had gotten on Kuroo and he got 2nd degree burns up his right leg. 

I was still in college at the time so I didn’t see the call until later that evening. The injury wasn’t as life threatening as Iwaizumi’s but it was still terrifying to see Kuroo in the hospital. His right leg is still covered in scars. Kuroo told me how he had barely gotten onto the ladder when the floor collapsed under Iwaizumi...how close he was to also falling through the floor. I had panic attacks about it for weeks…”

It was because of the quick and decisive actions of the rest of the crew that Iwaizumi was still alive. Oikawa would never wish that someone else would have been there instead of Iwaizumi, he wanted all of them to never get hurt. Kuroo had been the person there the most for Tooru while Hajime was still in a coma. His support was one of the few things that kept Oikawa functioning during those dark days. 

“But I still could never ask him to quit. There is a teenage girl he goes to see every other week. She tried to kill herself, the pressure from school and her parents got to be too much and she tried to jump off a parking garage. Kuroo sat up there for 5 hours and just talked to her. No one had ever listened to her before and him being there and just listening was enough to get her to step down. It’s been two years since then. She’s going to graduate highschool soon and wants to go to college to become a psychiatrist that focuses on young adults so she can help kids like her. 

Kuro saved her life and now she’s devoting her life to helping others. The selfish part of me wants to keep him locked away at home where he can be safe but I also know that there are a lot more people out there who need him too.”

Oikawa had never thought about how much more went into their job besides fighting fires. During their relationship they had been stopped countless times in public by people who knew Hajime and wanted to thank him for all he does for the community. To Oikawa Hajime was a partner, a friend, and a lover but to the rest of the world he was a hero.

“I believe it is my turn to share.” The brunette looked up at Akaashi who was staring down at the silver band on his finger, a soft smile on his lips. 

“I married Bokuto knowing the kind of man he was. He’s energetic, outgoing, and loves the spotlight. But he does everything with his whole heart and that is what makes him such an amazing person. 

It must have been three or four years ago now but it was mid January when they got a call that a child had been playing on the ice on a frozen river and fell through. When they got there the little boy’s lips were blue and the only thing keeping him above water was the life preserver someone had thrown to him. 

Bokuto was the one who went out to rescue him. He made a path through the ice and got to the child with little difficulty. When they do a rescue like that they’re still wearing a lot of gear to keep out the cold but the raft he put the boy on was keeping him afloat. 

Even though the top of the river was frozen the water was still moving underneath and a large branch was caught in the current. It swept by and snagged Bokuto’s pant leg and dragged him under the ice in seconds. He said the shock from the cold water and the darkness paralyzed him. The current was carrying him farther and farther from the other rescuers and the chance of them being able to find him before he ran out of air was minuscule. 

By some miracle the branch got caught and he stopped moving but at this point hypothermia was already setting in and he couldn’t hold his breath much longer. He said he remembers pounding against the ice a few times before everything faded away. Then he woke up a few hours later in the hospital. 

Chief Ukai told me later that the ice where he was was thinner and when he was hitting it he managed to break it and they saw his glove. When they pulled him out he wasn’t breathing but the EMT got his heart to restart in the ambulance.” 

The man paused and took a deep breath. Kenma reached out and took Akaashi’s hand in his own, giving it a reassuring squeeze. There was no way for them to compare tragedies, the shock of almost losing the one you love was terrible in any situation. 

“Bokuto had nightmares about it for months. For a little while he would fight sleep, he didn’t want to relive the accident over and over again. I would wake up to his screams and him thrashing in bed. I felt so useless. I was his partner, the person who had vowed to always be there for him, and all I could do was watch him suffer. 

Then one day he got a call from the child’s parents. The boy wanted Bokuto to come into his school so he could show them the hero that saved him. At first he didn’t want to go, that day was the last thing he wanted to talk about, but I encouraged him to do it. I thought that maybe if he saw the life he saved that day it would help him and I was right. After Bokuto listened to the little boy excitedly tell all his peers about how he had swooped in and saved him the nightmares went away.”

Just as Akashi finished his story the waiter came by and set their food down in front of them. Oikawa stared down at the sandwich in front of him deep in thought. 

He didn’t think he’d ever not be scared by Iwaizumi’s job. Every time his partner went into work there would be a fear that sat in his chest until his lover came home safe and sound. But the idea of leaving Iwaizumi forever, that made Oikawa’s chest ache. As long as Hajime was breathing Tooru wanted to be by his side. 

“Thank you...I really needed to hear this.” The other men gave him warm smiles. 

Now the thought of talking to Iwaizumi tomorrow didn’t seem so daunting. Oikawa just hoped that the firefighter felt the same way. 

~~~

The next day Oikawa walked up the familiar flight of stairs to his and Iwaizumi’s shared apartment. In his car he had his suitcase, ready to be emptied or packed based off of the conversation he was about to have. The anxiety he felt now made every presentation he had given prior look like child’s play. He couldn’t stop his hand from trembling as he reached up to knock on the pale wood of the front door. 

After a few moments the door opened and chocolate eyes looked at the man in front of him. Iwaizumi hadn’t changed in 72 hours but Oikawa felt relief flooding through him the second he saw Hajime was alright. 

“Hi.” Oikawa looked down at the floor nervously. He suddenly felt like he didn’t belong in their home. 

“Hey. Come in. I’ve got everything set up at the kitchen table.” Oikawa furrowed his brow in confusion but nonetheless walked into the familiar space and towards their kitchen. On the tabletop there were two mugs of tea (one in Oikawa’s favorite alien head shaped mug), a plate full of milk bread (Oikawa could tell it was the expensive kind from the fancy bakery he loved), and a small pile of several papers with Iwaizumi’s messy scrawl filling every line. 

The brunette sat down and watched as Iwaizumi made his way to the other side of the table. He was pleased to see that the firefighter was using the cane he had so stubbornly refused before. 

“Ha-.”

“Wait please wait. I have a lot to say and I really want you to hear it okay?” Oikawa felt his anxiety closing around his throat, making each breath smaller than the last. He nodded his head. 

Iwaizumi picked up the stack of papers. Emerald eyes flickered nervously from the words on the page to Oikawa’s face. 

“First I want to say I’m sorry. I’m sorry for being an ass. For all the horrible things I said. For my behavior these past months. For getting hurt in the first place. I’m sorry for the pain I’ve caused you and the tears you’ve shed because of me. I’m sorry for not being the man you needed me to be.” Iwaizumi’s voice started to tremble but he continued reading on. Oikawa felt tears slip freely down his cheeks. 

“You’ve been so amazing during all of this and I don’t deserve that. You could have left but instead you stayed by my side every step of the way and I have been so disrespectful towards you. I was angry and bitter at the world and instead of coping with it healthily I took it out on you which you didn’t deserve. 

I said a lot of hurtful things a-and I want you to know that none of them were even remotely true.” Iwaizumi’s voice cracked and he forced the sentences out through soft gasps and sobs. 

“I need you Tooru. God these past three days have been hell. I missed you every second and have been thinking about what I could do to beg you to come back. I know I don’t deserve it but I will do everything to prove to you how desperately I need you in my life. Before you, I hated coming home because all I felt was loneliness but now I get to spend every day with a partner who shows me love, kindness, and makes me happier than I ever thought possible. 

I know I haven’t done a good job of showing you this recently, but I love you. Tooru you’re the most important thing in the whole world to me which is why I did this.” Iwaizumi fumbled with the papers and set down one in front of Oikawa. 

It was printed instead of hand written. The paragraph was short and at the bottom was Iwaizumi’s smooth signature written in black ink. 

“I wrote my resignation letter. If you tell me, I'll walk to the firehouse tomorrow and put it on Chief Ukai’s desk personally. _Nothing_ is more important than you Tooru. No job, no position, nothing. So now all I can do is beg for your forgiveness and hope you’ll let me remind you that I’m still the man you fell in love with.” 

A silence fell over the room as Oikawa tried to grasp everything Iwaizumi had just told him. Brown eyes read over each word on the page again and again as if he was expecting them to change. 

The brunette looked up at Iwaizumi who was looking at him with an expression of hope mixed with fear. 

“No.” Oikawa watched Iwaizumi’s face fall. 

“No?” The other man whispered back in horror. 

“You’re not quitting.” Oikawa stood and walked over to the other side of the table so he could sit next to his partner. Iwaizumi turned to face him and Oikawa took both of the firefighter's hands in his own, lacing their fingers together. 

“It’s true you were a major ass to me and what you said really hurt but I’ve had some time to think and had some people help me gather my thoughts. I love you Hajime and one fight isn’t going to change that.” The firefighter let out a loud sob and squeezed Oikawa’s hands tight. The brunette brought them up to his lips and brushed his lips across Iwaizumi’s knuckles until the other man was able to control his breathing again. 

“I’m going to be honest, I will never stop being scared. Every time you go into a shift I will be terrified until you walk back through that door, but as long as you’re here I’m going to be at your side. 

I wouldn’t be alive today if it weren’t for you Hajime. It’s because of your fearlessness and selflessness that I’m breathing. Your job scares me but the idea of people like you not being there during times of need scares me even more. You saved my life but you’re not done, there are more people who need you and it would be selfish of me to keep you from them.” 

Oikawa leaned over and captured Hajime’s lips with his own. It was sloppy, they were both crying too hard for it to be considered a real kiss. For the first time in months Oikawa felt all of the tension leave his body. 

They were going to be okay. He knew that for certain. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m think about posting 2 more chapters.
> 
> The beach volleyball fundraiser and then an epilogue into the future. Tell me what you guys think! I know I’m kind of springing the ending on you guys last second but I hadn’t really decided how I wanted this fic to end until this chapter 😅


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iwaizumi had always thought of himself as a firefighter but now he had realized that he is so much more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know its been awhile but Im finally here to deliver your long awaited happy ending! I do plan on writing an epilogue but I don't know when that will happen so Im marking this as complete for now. 
> 
> This is a shorter chapter but I hope it fulfills all of your hopes and expectations. 
> 
> Thank you all for reading and experiencing this journey with me <3
> 
> Follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/a_very_smolfrog) for updates on other fics, haikyuu brain rot, and other shenanigans.

The summer sun was out in full glory, the sticky heat clinging to his skin and causing sweat to pool on his brow. The gentle sea breeze allowed some respite from the intensity and a quick dip in the cool waves fought off the worst of the heat. 

The sounds of laughter and playful banter stretched along the coast line. The smell of barbecue wafted through the air. 

Iwaizumi sat under an umbrella in the sand, laid back on a beach towel as he listened to the party happening around him. 

After his injury he of course couldn’t participate in the beach volleyball tournament anymore but he still came to support the Aoba Johsai firehouse. Kuroo had taken over as captain for his team. They had to swap a few roles around and now Terushima had taken Iwaizumi’s position as winged spiker and Semi was filling the role of setter. All in all they were still a solid team. 

They had beaten the first team they played against and were now waiting on the sidelines for their next match. 

Daichi’s team was currently on one of the courts playing against the Date Tech firehouse. Iwaizumi watched Date Tech’s captain, Aone, block one of Bokuto’s spikes, burying the red and green ball in the soft sand. 

It was a close match. Hinata (now officially Kageyama’s boyfriend. Yaku ended up winning the pool and the bastard was sure to flaunt his earnings) was watching on the sidelines. The firecracker was muttering things to Shiribu and the blonde quickly wrote down notes on his clipboard. 

“Here I brought you a water.” Iwaizumi slung his head back lazily to look up at Oikawa. The brunette was dressed in a pair of light blue swim trunks that stopped mid thigh and his only accessory was a pair of sunglasses currently nestled in chestnut colored hair. 

He was a vision.

The firefighter gratefully took the cool bottle as his partner settled down on a towel next to him. 

“Do you think they’re going to win?” Oikawa asked, brown eyes trained on the volleyball game happening in front of them. Bokuto let out a signature “ _ HEY HEY HEY!”  _ after one of his spikes slipped past the blockers, earning them another point. 

“Yeah. Bokuto and Kageyama are in a groove right now. It’s kind of scary how good that kid is. He really could have gone pro.” There were several news crews around recording the event. All desperate to catch The King of the Court play one last time. 

Oikawa hummed thoughtfully at the statement, opening his own water bottle and taking a long drink. Forest green eyes followed a few stray drops that leaked from the corner of his mouth and watched as they trailed down the brunette’s neck. Iwaizumi’s tongue darted out to wet his lips. Suddenly he was  _ very _ thirsty. 

“Can you please not eye fuck your boyfriend in public.” Iwaizumi jumped at the new voice and looked up to see Yaku scowling down at him. The shorter man joined them under the large umbrella, taking refuge from the blistering summer sun. Yamaguchi was also in tow and his brown eyes widened in horror at Yaku’s comment. The latter swatted at his elder’s arm, mumbling something about respecting the captain under his breath. 

“It’s fine Yamaguchi. Technically, I’m not your captain right now.” Physical therapy was still slow going but he had seen great improvements in his mobility. Every night Oikawa would help him go through stretches and light exercises, though Iwaizumi wasn’t entirely sure the gesture was done with only his health in mind. Oikawa had been  _ very _ enthusiastic when Iwaizumi’s doctor instructed him to start doing yoga. Let’s just say some of the captain’s lifting exercises involved using the brunette as a weight. 

“But the doctor said Iwa-chan would be able to go back before Christmas.” Ever since that night, since their talk, Oikawa had been more accepting of Iwaizumi’s decision to go back to work. He wasn’t in love with the idea but he had come to terms with it. 

Now the brunette had some insurance. Nestled at the bottom of one of the drawers in his bedside table was a single typed out letter with Iwaizumi’s signature in black ink at the bottom. If it ever got dangerous, if Oikawa ever felt fear crawling back up his spine, then all he had to do was place that letter on the table and it was all over. 

It wasn’t a responsibility that should be taken lightly, but Iwaizumi trusted Oikawa more than anyone. If he said it was time to get out then it was time to get out. 

A loud shout from the volleyball court drew Iwaizumi’s attention. He looked up just in time to see Bokuto and Nishinoya tackling Tsukishima to the ground. The blonde’s block having earned them their winning point. Yamaguchi’s eyes sparkled as he watched them, and a bright smile lit up his face. Iwaizumi recognized that smile, it was the same one he wore every time he heard someone praise Oikawa’s research or congratulated him on one of his papers. 

It was always so rewarding watching the person you love succeed at what they did. 

“Hey.” Iwaizumi called softly, hand reaching out to tug at the edge of Oikawa’s swim trunks. Rich chocolate brown eyes glided over to look at him and Iwaizumi wanted to melt inside of them. Everything about Oikawa made him feel gooey and warm inside. He thought that over time the giddiness would fade, that he would grow desensitized to the overwhelming love, but if anything it grew. Instead of being restricted to large moments and romantic gestures, it had crowded into mundane moments of everyday life. 

It filled his brain while they were doing the dishes in a warm comfortable silence. It threatened to burst out of his chest when he saw Oikawa passed out on their couch, a stack of ungraded papers on his chest and red sharpie hanging precariously from his fingertips. It stole his breath as he looked over and even under the shade of the umbrella, hot, sticky, and covered in sand, Oikawa still managed to be more beautiful than Iwaizumi could ever hope to express through words. 

And he wanted  _ him _ .

Of all the people on this floating hunk of space rock Oikawa had chosen him. 

Even after all of the stress and crap he had put him through. Before the accident Iwaizumi knew that he was in love with Oikawa, but now that that love had been tested he knew without a shadow of a doubt that the brunette was it for him. He didn’t believe in soulmates but this came pretty damn close.

“I love you.” Iwaizumi would never get tired of watching the soft blush crawl across Oikawa’s cheeks when he surprised him with affection. 

The firefighter wasn’t a lovey dovey person. He felt like those moments should be reserved for the privacy of their home. He didn’t give a damn if the world thought they were in love, as long as Oikawa knew that was what mattered, but he would be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy spoiling his lover every once and a blue moon. 

“Barf. Can you two go be disgusting somewhere else.” Iwaizumi rolled his eyes at his subordinate. The moment was soon ruined anyways as Daichi’s team finally made their way back to the umbrellas, all of them covered in sweat and a thin layer of sand. 

Iwaizumi leaned over and placed a soft kiss to Oikawa’s bicep, the only piece of skin he could reach without moving from his comfortable position. 

Soon their peaceful oasis was full of boisterous laughter and playful banter. Iwaizumi sat back and observed from the edge, taking in the scene in front of him. 

The whole firehouse was there to participate in the day’s festivities. 

Kageyama and Hinata were huddled closely together going over different plays and techniques that the setter could use during their next match. Surprisingly, Kageyama actually took what the other man was saying to heart. Typically the raven haired man was obstinate, only listening to Iwaizumi and Daichi without any hesitation. It seemed as if the shrimp had actually caused Kageyama to mature. Funny how love could change a person. 

Kiyoko sat in front of Tanaka as her husband rubbed sunscreen on her shoulders. He was going off on a long tangent about the danger of skin cancer and how Kiyoko needed to protect her precious skin. The woman smiled softly as he spoke. Even though she’d never admit it, she loved her husband’s loud declarations of his love. 

Yamaguchi and Tsukishima sat off to the side. Yamaguchi was slowly wrapping each of Tsukishima’s fingers, handling each one like it was delicate porcelain. The blonde made no snide remarks about his gentleness or speed. Instead golden eyes were trained on the furrow of Yamaguchi’s brow and the tip of his tongue poking out from between his lips as he concentrated. 

Kuroo and Bokuto were smack talking each other, their cacophony of childish insults could be heard a mile down the coast. Akaashi sat by his husband’s side gently coaxing him to eat bites of fruit and a sandwich between insults. This resulted in the man yelling with a mouth full of food instead of taking the time to swallow, but no one seemed to mind. Kenma was engrossed in one of his game consoles and was tucked into Kuroo’s side. The faux blonde had barely left the shade of the umbrella all day, but everyone could see how much it meant to Kuroo that he had come at all. 

Daichi and Suga were of course being disgustingly cute and domestic. Suga was perched on Daichi’s lap as the latter sat in one of the few couveted beach chairs. The lieutenant was carefully feeding his lover grapes, and anyone with eyes could see Sugawara take them from his fingers just a little too slow. A new shiny silver ring sat snug on the ashen haired man’s left hand. The wedding was next fall. Daichi had already asked Iwaizumi to be his best man. 

Iwaizumi was an idiot. 

How he had ever thought that these people could forget about him was beyond him. 

This was his  _ family _ . In the firehouse or not they would always share a bond that could never be broken. No injury could ever take away the love that he felt for these people and he knew that it was the same reversed. Their relationship was forged by fire and smoke, by blood, sweat, and tears. Not even the cool hand of death itself could break what they had built.

Sitting here now, surrounded by them all, Iwaizumi felt like the luckiest person alive. 

He loved being a firefighter. He loved being able to go to work every day and know that his job meant something, that he had made a difference. 

But above all else he loved these people. He had been a fool to think that just because he no longer led them that they would fill his empty seat and he would be a ghost from the past, a few memories and funny stories. 

He couldn’t have asked for a better group of friends if he tried. 

And then there was Oikawa. 

Somehow the brunette had completely shifted his world view with just a flirty smile and a wink. 

A year ago Iwaizumi had claimed to save his life by pulling Oikawa out of his burning apartment, but in the end who had really saved who?

Home had always been an abstract concept to Iwaizumi. The pale gray walls of his apartment never felt like more than a place to sleep and eat. For a long time he had thought of the firehouse as his home, but now he realized that it wasn’t the building but the people that filled it. 

Now home was a head of chestnut hair, warm sleepy smiles, alien facts, and long gangly limbs that wrapped around him at the most inopportune times. 

Home was named Oikawa Tooru and finally,  _ finally _ , Iwaizumi understood what the word meant. 

And his own stupidity and stubbornness had almost crumbled it to ash. 

But after years of hurling himself into them, Iwaizumi had gained respect for fire. From the burnt and broken ashes new life would always emerge. The old providing nutrients for the new and suddenly what once was barren was now teeming with life. 

Fire wasn’t an end, it was a new start. 

His injuries had given him a fresh start, a new outlook on his life and priorities. 

Iwaizumi slowly stood up off the sand and then cleared his throat. 

There was silence around him. 

“I just wanted to say a few things since we are all together right now.” What was just moments ago a pleasant heat had turned unbearable. The captain bit the inside of his cheek hard to settle his nerves. He was a leader, he was  _ their _ leader. They trusted him with their lives, now he could trust them with a small bit of his soul. 

“A lot has happened to us, well specifically me, this year and I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for your unwavering support and attention. I know for a little while there I had my head up my ass.” 

Kuroo let out a cough that sounded suspiciously like ‘ _ No shit’ _ but Iwaizumi let it slide. This was supposed to be a happy moment and killing his lieutenant would probably put a slight damper on the mood (Or improve it greatly. It really depended on the severity of his recent shenanigans and who had fallen victim). 

“But this accident has made me think and realize a lot of things. It made me realize that I’m really fucking lucky to have you all, and I know I don’t say that enough but just know that I am grateful for all of you.” Terushima let out a fake sob and Kuroo made a heart with his hands while blowing Iwaizumi a kiss. Grateful was a heavy word and maybe he had used it too liberally. Tolerant might be a more accurate description.

“I couldn’t have asked for better people to stand by my side. But specifically there is one person who deserves the majority of my thanks.” Iwaizumi turned slightly to look at where Oikawa was still sitting in the sand. Chocolate brown eyes looked up at him, overflowing with unspoken questions. 

“Oikawa Tooru you are the biggest pain in my ass. Ever since I carried you out of that burning building I haven’t been able to shake you off.” The brunette’s face fell and he rolled his eyes with a click of his tongue. 

“But I love you. I never thought that this kind of life was meant for me before you. I am married to my work, and I know this has been rough on you but you never once left my side. I am so thankful for you and everything you’ve done and continue to do for me everyday. 

This accident has shown me that life is too short to be complacent. I don’t know what the future holds but I do know without a shadow of a doubt that I want you in mine.” The captain reached down into his pocket and fumbled for the small bag he had placed there this morning. 

The air had gone still around him. It was like everyone had stopped breathing, too focused on the movement of his hands to be bothered with basic bodily functions. Oikawa was staring at him with wide eyes, shock written in every one of his features. 

Iwaizumi opened the small blue bag and felt the weight of a ring fall into his hand. It was dark gray in color with a rough texture on the outside. 

“You always say that we met when I saved your life but I don’t think you realize that you save mine every day.” Slowly Iwaizumi sank down onto one knee in front of Oikawa. He had been working tirelessly at physical therapy to be able to do this unassisted.

The brunette had both of his hands over his mouth and tears slinked between his finger tips. 

“Oikawa Tooru, will you marry me?” 

For weeks he had been agonizing. Oikawa deserved the best. He deserved perfection. Iwaizumi never wanted the brunette to doubt his love again. After everything he had put him through this past year, Oikawa could ask for the universe and Iwaizumi would do everything in his power to serve it to him on a silver platter. 

“Yes. God of course yes.” Oikawa gasped. Long slender fingers cupped his cheeks and Iwaizumi could taste the tears on his  _ fiance’s  _ lips. 

The air around them exploded with celebration but right now the universe consisted of only their beating hearts. 

Iwaizumi pulled away from a moment to slip the ring on Oikawa’s trembling finger. 

“It's made of meteorite. So even when you’re stuck down here on earth this will always be with you to remind you to never stop looking at the stars.” Oikawa let out a soft sob and used his right hand to try and mop the tears off his cheeks. 

“Iwa-chan when did you turn into such a romantic?” Their lips met again and Iwaizumi felt pure joy settle deep into his bones. With Oikawa by his side he knew that it would be stitched into the very fibre of his being. 

It felt like he was flying, soaring through a clear blue sky with nothing but happily ever after on the horizon. 

Being a firefighter, he had seen people during their darkest hour. It was hard to remember the smiles and laughter that had filled homes when you were staring at its charred skeleton. You didn’t remember the kisses and smiles shared between two people when one was crying over the remains of the other. 

It was easy to get caught up in the gloom and misery. 

But Oikawa had forced his way in Iwaizumi’s life and carved out a space for himself. He was a beacon, a light to make sure the captain didn’t get lost in the smoke and flames. 

Iwaizumi loved being a firefighter, but he loved being Oikawa’s even more. 

  
  


**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Active Duty](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28646247) by [Skinny_All_Mights_Segway](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skinny_All_Mights_Segway/pseuds/Skinny_All_Mights_Segway)




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